Heartbroken
by Dark Gothic Lolita
Summary: After Gray and Lucy started getting closer to each other, their guildmates cheered for them, but they didn't notice two heartbroken mages in the opposite corners of the guild... ADOPTED FROM SAKURAPETAL91
1. Loneliness

Hey, Dark Gothic Lolita here!

So some of you may know or some you might NOT know, but I have adopted this story from **SakuraPetal91. !** This is her idea and story, but due to her no longer really reading Fairy Tail anymore, she asked me if I could finish it off. A Navia story, how could I turn it down?! So here I am. I am rewriting the whole thing in a more Lolita way, but everything that she has written up onto a certain point will mostly be there. I'm just finding ways to make it longer and all that.

But yeah, I've never adopted a story from anyone lol. Let's see if I do it any justice!

Disclaimers and all that stuff *insert here*

ENJOY!

* * *

 **Heartbroken**

 **Loneliness**

"Yo, Luce! Wanna go on a job today?!"

Natsu was so bored. It had been a few days since he had last gone on a job and he wanted to do nothing more than kick a few arses into oblivion and of course, he wanted to do that with the girl he love, Lucy. Hopefully she would say yes because she's so lazy and only usually liked to go on jobs when her rent was due.

"Ah, I'm super sorry Natsu! I've got to meet with someone tonight so I can't go on a job today, maybe tomorrow?"

That was the line lately. If she didn't need to pay her rent, she would turn Natsu down with an excuse. At least when she was being lazy about not wanting to go on a job, it was genuinely because she was lazy and never came up with an excuse for it. Now, she was always dismissing Natsu and she never saw how it was always affecting him.

"Oh yeah, sure! We can always do tomorrow!"

And then tomorrow will never come. " _Of course you're busy...busy with the icicle."_

Natsu breathed in deep and heaved a sigh, wondering what he had done to his team to piss them all off that they wouldn't even want to hang out with him anymore. He just didn't get it. He could hear Gray and Lucy chattering away and giggling at something, but he wasn't really focusing on what they were saying. They just left him out of stuff and he couldn't quite understand why. Erza was becoming more and more strict with him and he didn't get why either. Hell, he couldn't even talk to Happy anymore because the exceed had gone and moved in with Lucy and even started getting a whole lot closer with Carla.

He rubbed at his face, suddenly feeling tired. He wasn't as bubbly, as cheerful and his fire wasn't as hot anymore. He hated it. Nobody didn't really notice anything when he put on that huge fake smile, no one thought that anything would ever be able to bring Natsu down because hell, he's Natsu Dragneel. Nobody ever understood.

Meanwhile, before Lucy had gone over to Gray, Juvia had approached him first. She felt her heart speed up when she saw him and she found it very difficult to keep her cool around him. Her hands were clutched together as she pushed away her swooning nature in order to ask him the most important question of the day.

"Gray-sama, would you like to-"

"No."

She frowned a little bit before putting another smile on her face. Maybe he was just playing hard to get right now. Yeah, that's it.

"B-but Juvia didn't even get to finish.."

"You didn't have to. I know you were going to ask me out, making my answer be 'no.' Not now, not next week, not next month, not _ever._ "

Juvia bit her lip, her heart in pain. She thought that their friendship had been progressing well, but as of late, Gray was treating her colder than his ice will ever be. He barely let her finish speaking and it was nothing but harsh rejections tumbling from his lips. It took all of Juvia's being not to cry in front of him.

"Juvia wasn't going to ask Gray-sama on a date, just to do a job, but okay. Juvia gets it either way."

Honestly, this time she wasn't even asking to go on a date with him, just a job. Their magic worked really well together and their unison raid was strong. She had thought that working with him would make the job simple and quick, but also get some big bucks out of it. Of course, hanging out with him on the job was an extreme bonus.

She quickly turned away, wondering what she had actually done to deserve the harsh treatment he had been giving her lately. She turned back around and saw that Lucy had joined him at the table and they were yapping away and laughing. Honestly, Juvia had never seen Gray look so happy in her life and that made her turn her head away with a sigh. It was a shame, nobody ever noticed her sigh.

In order to take her mind off of the pain she felt, she tried to look for her best friend. Hopefully he will be around somewhere so that they can go on a job together. She looked in his usual corner and she saw him, a faint smile on her lips. She loved going on jobs with Gajeel, especially after Gray says no. He always shouts out the things he will do to him when he gets his hands on him and even though Juvia says not to, she's happy that he still looks out for her.

"Gajeel-kun! Would you like to go on a job with Juvia?"

The iron dragon slayer gave her an apologetic looks that was only ever used on her. "Sorry ameonna, I promised the shrimp that I would go on a job with her. You can come too if you want."

Juvia forgot all about Gray and gave her best friend a sly smirk. "Oh no, it's fine, Juvia doesn't want to be third wheel."

Gajeel's face went bright red as he exploded. "WHAT?! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT AMEONNA!"

Juvia waved her hand, laughing at her friend's reaction. He was so easy to read. "Okay, okay. Anyway, Juvia will just go and find someone else. Have fun on your job! Bye Lily!" She waved to the exceed who also waved back to her.

As soon as Juvia walked away from their table, her smile dropped. She realised that she hadn't actually made good friends with that many people in the guild that they would want to go on a job with her. She squared her shoulders and dismissed the thought. They're nakama, hopefully there would be _someone_ who would want to go on a job with her, right?

She went around, table to table and found no one. She grit her teeth and looked away from the board as she went to find a lone table. There will be no tears, she will not cry! Instead, she banged her head on the table and she knew that no one would notice that she would have done so. No one wanted to go on a job with the guild's weirdo and she couldn't blame them. She only had herself to blame really. It was her fault that she was chasing Gray and not getting to know anyone else.

She put her arms around her head as she thought about her life. Lucy was out there winning Gray's heart, her best friend was winning Levy's heart and she had rent to pay before she got kicked out of Fairy Hills. Fairy Hills wasn't lenient like Lucy's landlady, no matter how tough she tried to make herself out to be to Lucy. If you didn't have the money for Fairy Hills, you were out straight away, no discussion.

With her head still on the table, she had to think about her options. It would be better for her if she just went on a solo mission. She was quite scared to do missions by herself. She laughed inwardly at herself. Back in Phantom, she was so strong and she was feared. Here, she was ridiculed and couldn't even go on a job by herself. Pathetic.

She felt someone tap her shoulders, and for a split second, she thought it was Gray coming to apologize to her and maybe go on the job with her after all, but she quickly dismissed that thought and found herself looking into the eyes of Natsu Dragneel.

"Hey Juvia, would you go on a job with me?"

There was Natsu, standing her side, a job request in his hand. Juvia frowned. How had she missed that Natsu was in the guild? If she had seen him, she would have asked him to go on the job with her, because he rarely turns down job offers with people, but then again, his team consists of him, Happy and Lucy. Occasionally Gray and Erza would tag along with Wendy as well, making Team Natsu the strongest team in the guild up to date. Why would Natsu want to go on a job with her? She voiced what was on her mind.

"Why would Natsu want to go on a job with Juvia? Doesn't Natsu usually go with Lucy?"

At the name of Lucy, Natsu's bangs were covering his face as he looked down. He was glaring holes into the ground and Juvia actually wanted to do nothing more than hug her nakama right now. Natsu never looked this upset, this defeated.

"Lucy's... _busy_ with the ice prick. She always is these days..."

He looked up and away from Juvia's eyes as he saw them widen. Juvia suddenly understood what this was all about and gave him an understanding look. Clearly Natsu had feelings for Lucy, and with her constantly hanging out with Gray, it was also having an effect on Natsu. Juvia's gaze softened as she gave him an understanding look, then she grinned.

"Of course Juvia would go on a job with you! When do we go?"

She jumped out of her seat and Natsu turned his head back to her, surprised that she was so cheerful, so upbeat all of a sudden. It made him give her a toothy grin. He hadn't really expected for her to accept his request and it made him feel warm again. He reached out for her wrist on instinct and pulled her over to the door.

"We're going right now! Let's head to the station, I've already got the job cleared by Mira!"

Juvia stumbled over her feet before being able to catch up with him, running at the same speed which must have surprised him. Lucy must have done nothing but complain about all the times he's always grabbed her wrist and just not warned her.

"W-wait, isn't Happy-chan coming?"

"Um, no, he kinda ditched me for Lucy. Said she has more fish than I do and her house is way cleaner than mine." He tried to keep the cheerful face that he had on, despite the fact that he was wilting again. He couldn't let Juvia see that it was upsetting him more than he would ever let on.

Juvia frowned in disappointment. How could Happy, his best friend, his own foster son, just leave him like that? What kind of excuse was that? Juvia couldn't believe it, none of them must have understood how heartbroken Natsu felt, and here he was, putting on a fake grinning face just to make sure that no one would see his pain.

Juvia was so deep in thought that she hadn't realised that they had already gotten to the station. While they had been running, Natsu's hand had slipped from her wrist and to her hand without knowing, so when he stopped, he was ready to pull his hand away before Juvia punched him. Juvia unconsciously kept his hand in hers despite him trying to pull it away.

"Uh, Juvia, we're here now."

She snapped right out of her thoughts and stared at him for a little while, before nodding her head and blushing at her airhead behaviour. Finally, she released his hand, but not without giving it a reassuring squeeze and a reassuring smile as she went to go and buy the tickets.

Natsu stared after her, wondering what it was about, but she must have caught onto what he was saying, how Happy left him for Lucy. His smile slipped, showing his true self, but he felt a little happy that Juvia was coming on this job with him.

They finally got on the train, and their journey was a silent one, due to Juvia knocking Natsu out as that's what she always has to go with Gajeel. Their motion sickness must have been annoying, but as soon as she got him off of the train and used her water magic to make him wake up, he was back his fiery nature. She grinned, watching him be so happy.

"Finally, we're off of that fucking train!"

Juvia giggled. That was something Gajeel always said as soon as they were off of the train too. She liked how lively Natsu always seemed, even if he was lacking the spirit that he usually had. At least this way, it was going to take her mind off of Gray and what had happened earlier that day.

~x~

The job was simple, just more of your everyday 'catch a group of bandits.' Juvia had raised her eyebrow, wondering why Natsu picked such an easy job. Lucy must have gotten into his head this badly that he picked up any random job he could find. She could have done this by herself! Still, she wasn't complaining, it paid quite handsomely and Natsu was good fun the whole time. He must have been trying to keep Lucy out of his mind too.

Finding the hideout had been the most difficult part, but Natsu had caught the scent of a few people around and they deduced that it was a bandit and they headed straight there. The bandits were civilians, so the two of them hadn't even needed their magic against the two of them.

Juvia already knew of how strong Natsu was without his magic, but Natsu had almost been blindsided when he saw Juvia fighting. She was literally like water, flowing. It looked more like she was dancing than actually fighting, and she was so quick and agile too. He remembered Gajeel saying that Juvia was a hand to hand combat specialist back in Phantom Lord and that she was actually stronger than your above average man.

Natsu dodged an incoming dagger that had threatened his face when he remembered that he should be fighting too. It was just a surprise, seeing Juvia fight so seriously because Gray wasn't around. He had heard of Juvia being strong, but he himself had never actually witnessed it. He only saw the times that she had made a fool out of herself.

They had collected their reward after they had tied up the men and put them in prison and Natsu was complimenting Juvia. "Wow Juvia, I never knew that you were so strong! I mean, I've heard that you are, but I've never seen it! You don't even need magic!"

Juvia blushed and looked at the ground, her hair falling around her face. She had never been praised before and to hear it from Natsu, a guy that she thought to be extremely powerful, she was honestly flattered to hear such things.

"You're just saying that, Juvia isn't strong at all."

Natsu threw his arm over her shoulder and brought her closer to him. He peered right into her face, making her stop breathing as she watched him. He was so closer to her, his breath was hot on her face. She could actually feel herself heating up and she wasn't sure if that was because of his magic, or because she had never been this close to a boy before.

"Yes, I am just saying that, because it's true. I saw how you fought all of those guys Juvia and some of them were like the size of Elfman. Don't let anyone ever put you down because you were awesome."

Finally, he pulled away and Juvia was able to breathe again. Natsu gave her a grin and she smiled back at him happily. She had never felt more sure of herself and her magic. She felt warmth in her chest and she clutched her hand to her chest. Yeah, she was strong.

"Okay, so I doubt we're going to be able to get back tonight, so what do you want to do, camp or go to a hotel?"

Juvia had never felt happier listening to Gajeel. The iron dragon slayer had found these magic compartment seals (like a storage seal from Naruto) in a market they were passing by and managed to get Juvia to buy a few too. They were small, but when you pumped them with magic, it opened up what was inside. This way, the duo literally looked like they came as they were so that they didn't have have to pack any bags, just the little seals that they put in their pockets.

Juvia's eyes lit up when she realised that the choice was up to her.

"Well, Juvia has never camped before, so why don't we do that? It sounds like fun!"

She jumped up with a fist pump in the air and Natsu couldn't help but watch her with a soft smile on his face. Lucy never liked it when he said that they should camp, rather, she opted to going to a hotel and basically spending the jewels that they had just earned in there. His smile dropped when he thought about Lucy. He missed her.

Juvia saw his smile vanish and hers started to disappear too. " _He must be thinking about Lucy..."_

"Natsu?" Juvia called his name out softly and it seemed to snap him out of whatever thought or memory he had of Lucy. He put on a fake smile when he realised that he had been caught out and Juvia tilted her head at him.

"It's okay Natsu, you don't have to smile if you don't want to."

Natsu almost lost his smile, but he shook his head. "What are you talking about?"

Juvia sighed at him. "Juvia can tell that your smile is fake. It doesn't reach your eyes, Natsu."

He looked down at her, right into her eyes and she almost cried at the sad look he gave her. It was his real face, not his mask. She could tell that he hadn't been happy for the longest of time and now it was all beginning to show. He threw her a sad smile instead as he started pulling off the bags from his back.

"You're different you know. Different to everyone in the guild. You're the only one who has been able to tell how upset I've been."

Juvia watched him set up the tent. She would have helped, but she didn't know what to do, so she opted to watch. She was an extremely fast learner anyway, so if she watched his every move, she'll be able to put up the tent next time, no sweat.

"Juvia knows what it's like to keep up appearances, to give fake smiles. Juvia's been doing it everytime Gray-sama shoots her down, of course she'll be able to see if you're wearing a fake smile or not. Besides, Natsu is always smiling, it's easy to tell when you have a genuine one or a fake one.

Natsu looked up at her, a grateful look on his face, before he turned his attention back to the tent.

"Juvia is guessing that you must have loved Lucy quite a bit then."

Natsu sighed and nodded his head, getting one of the pegs. "I loved her more than I ever thought I would and more than she or anyone else would ever know. Anyway, we can see that I'm coping with all of this through fake smiles, what about you? Everyone knows that you love Gray."

Juvia looked away, deciding to stare at the twigs on the ground. "Juvia isn't sure how she's coping really. J-Juvia guesses it's because she's always known that deep down, she is not the girl for Gray-sama. He has always pushed Juvia away and Juvia thought that if she was persistent enough, she could get through to him finally, but look at how many years Juvia has been trying. It's time to give up."

She didn't know that a tear slipped out of her eye until Natsu stood up and used his thumb to wipe the tear away. Juvia laughed a little bit at her silliness and Natsu pulled her in for a hug. That was when she broke down.

"Juvia just wants someone to love her! All her life, people have always ignored Juvia and she hates it! Juvia just wants someone who is always there!"

Natsu felt his heart bleed for her when he remembered the story of her past and how no one ever came near her when they found out it was because of her that there was always rain. He decided that he was always going to be there for Juvia. He didn't know why, but it was like he felt something within him shift a little.

"Hey, it's okay. Look, I'm here! I'm teaching you how to camp right? And any other stuff you need, I'll always be here too. Fuck the ice prick, you've got me."

She pulled away from him and nodded her head with a huge smile, wiping her tears away. She appreciated Natsu's help in trying to make her feel better and so far, it was working. First of all, no tears. She couldn't be caught crying anymore.

"Okay, so now what do we do? We have to eat!" Juvia felt pretty pleased in knowing the answer to her own question before she realised something. They were going to have to _hunt_. Natsu saw her face and understood straight away, laughing his head off.

"Oh man, did you see your face?! Don't worry, we won't have to hunt. Silly Juvia." He was still laughing now and Juvia pouted. She wasn't joking when she said that she'd never been camping before. She thought it was really hardcore like that!

"Don't worry, I have some food that I can cook." He was still laughing a little bit and it made Juvia smile, happy that she was the one who was able to make Natsu smile and laugh like that. Honestly, it was probably the best accomplishment that she had made in a while. Then she brightened up again.

"Oooh, is Natsu going to make a fire by rubbing two twigs together?"

Natsu gave her a weird look before he broke out into laughter again. This time, his arm fell on Juvia's shoulder as he shook her about while he laughed. He loved how funny she was and it was like she wasn't even trying. Seriously, he could probably end up dying from laughing for real if she made him laugh this much. He could barely breathe!

"Juvia, I can't believe no one pushed you into comedy, you're fucking hilarious."

Once more, she pouted and crossed her arms as she sat close to his side. "What has Juvia said _now_?"

Natsu looked down at her and shook his head, a small smile on his face. "I'm a fire dragon slayer and you want to make fire using two stick when I can just light up my hand?" To make his point seem clearer, he set his hand alight and even blew a little bit of fire out of his nose like an actual fire dragon. Juvia blushed at her stupidity but decided that she needed to save herself some embarrassment.

"W-well, Juvia has never gone camping before and she wanted the full experience! Maybe one day, Juvia will camp without you and you won't be there with your flaming hand to help, will you? Or none of us might have food to cook and then we'll need to hunt for real. Juvia is just getting in practice."

Natsu chuckled once more and nodded, accepting her little excuse for now as he arranged the twigs. When he moved his arm away, Juvia frowned a little bit, missing the warmth that he had provided her with. He then pulled out another tent as he was getting ready to put that up.

"I'll give you time to do your twig rubbing to make a fire and if it's not done by the time I finish with your tent, I'm lighting it up myself."

Juvia stuck her tongue out once he turned his back, feeling a little childish. She was going to show him. She was going to light this puppy up and she was going to smirk at him.

"I think you're rubbing them so hard together, you're actually sharpening the both of them for when you go hunting."

Juvia jumped and glared at Natsu when she heard the amusement in his voice. He couldn't have finished with her tent already, had he? Oh, there it was, next to his standing tall. She blushed and moved out of the way as Natsu chuckled. He threw a mini fire ball at the pile of sticks and it all lit up.

Juvia sighed in slight happiness. She hadn't actually realised how cold she really was until Natsu had made the campfire. She was grateful for that, but now she was starving as well. She was slacking today. Usually, she would have her picnic seal on her, but she didn't think she brought it with her.

Then she blinked. OF COURSE, HE PICNIC SEAL!

She started checking her many hidden pockets within her jacket and managed to find it. She then saw Natsu pull out packets of steak from his cooler bag where he kept it nice and fresh and he suddenly had a makeshift spit as well. Juvia had to hold back her laughter when she saw how serious his face looked. He looked so funny!

"What's that you got there Juvia?"

Natsu had seen her using those weird things all day, but he never remembered to ask. Now he did. He was curious.

"These are seal compartments. Literally, you can seal anything in here! When you want to release it, pump some magic into it, as well as when you want to seal it as well. Like watch this."

She placed it on the ground between them as she pumped her magic into it. All of a sudden, there were plates and plates of food as Natsu's eyes bulged out of his head. One minute, there was no food there, just a bare empty ground and then all of a sudden, he was surrounded by a buffet. He gulped softly.

"Is this food real?" He didn't know why he was whispering, but it must have been because he was in awe of it all. He definitely had to get his hands on one of those seals. Or maybe a plate of Juvia's cooking instead.

"Yep! Juvia always makes too much food, Juvia, Gajeel and Lily can usually never finish it, but Juvia can't help it, she loves cooking! Besides, Juvia is pretty sure that Natsu will finish everything here." She laughed before pointing at the steaks. Natsu had been in fascination that he forgot about the steaks. At this point he didn't even care, he had good steaming hot food right in front of him.

"How does it still look like you've made it all fresh?"

"The seals keep anything in the condition that you sealed it in. I sealed them all fresh, making them come out fresh too. Dig in." She handed him a set of chopsticks and grabbed herself a plate. Once she started eating, it was as if that was the okay for Natsu to start eating too. He had never had Juvia's food, but once again had heard the hushed whispers of how the girls in Fairy Hill would opt to go to Juvia's and eat and sometimes they all ate together.

He took a bite into the shrimp and his eyes almost popped out of his head. Instead, he let out a low groan making Juvia look up at him and she smirked. Okay, so she wasn't all that confident in her magic even though she was probably the third strongest female in the guild, but she knew damn well that no one in the guild could actually beat her cooking. Hell, Mira even came to hers to eat!

Soon enough, there were no more bowls of food and Natsu was actually way beyond stuffed. He patted his stomach and gave her a toothy grin. "That was amazing. I can't even move now!"

Juvia giggled and sealed everything back so that she could wash up all her bowls when she gets back. Suddenly, she felt tired. The weight of the whole day, her up and down mood had suddenly gotten the best of her and all she wanted to do was sleep. She looked over at Natsu who looked like he wanted the same thing.

"I guess it's good night then! See you in the morning." Natsu yawned and Juvia said her goodnight too. He watched her crawl into her tent to make sure that she got in safely and he headed into his too. He smiled when he thought about his fun job with Juvia. Even though it started off as probably the shittest day ever since Lisanna died, it ended on a very good note and he was grateful for that.

" _Sweet dreams, Natsu."_

" _Sweet dreams, Juvia."_

* * *

So how was that? Did I do alright with it so far? I've been meaning to publish it, but I wanted to get a bit far ahead in terms of chapters. Obviously I'm taking too long lol, so I thought let me show you guys who have been waiting for the revamp of this story, that I am indeed alive and I haven't forgotten that I have actually adopted this story lol.

Not gonna lie, I didn't actually proof read this, but hopefully it's alright lol.

Please don't forget to rate or hate, flames or floods! I need to know if I'm doing an okay job with the story! Please check out all of **SakuraPetal91's** work, I do quite enjoy reading her stuff!

Lolita-chan


	2. Friends

Hey, Dark Gothic Lolita here!

Okay, so I'm supposed to be doing an essay which is due at like 10pm on Friday, but I just thought that I'll get out this chapter before I get thrown into the deep end with the endless amount of assignments that I'm about to get given next week lol.

I have had NOTHING BUT POSITIVE FEEDBACK! I'm honestly super happy that you guys think I'm doing a good enough job on this adoption! I mean I really liked the idea of the story, so to think that she asked me if I would adopt it, it's like an honour lol. She did however say that she was asked by someone if I would do it, so for that person to give her the idea to give it to me, honestly, I can't thank you enough!

I was way too excited proof read this and we already know I don't own Fairy Tail (otherwise Navia would be canon, just saying lol)

ENJOY!

* * *

 **Heartbroken**

 **Friends**

 _Juvia was sitting in the guildhall, in a quiet corner to herself. She was watching Gray from afar with her chin propped up by her hand, watching him dreamily. He was laughing with all his teammates, when their eyes locked onto one another's. Juvia sat up straight when she saw him get up and head straight for her. Her heart was racing, a smile on her face. Was he coming to talk to her?!_

" _Oi Juvia?"_

" _H-hello Gray-sama." Juvia started fidgeting with her fingers that were in her lap as she was wondering what he wanted with her. Not like she was complaining, it's just that she thought he didn't want to hang out with her ever again._

 _He gave her a soft smile while pointing back at his team. "Would you like to go on a job with the rest of us? We could use your help on this one."_

 _Juvia couldn't help but blush as her facial expression brightened up. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought that Gray would actually ask to go on a job with her! Okay, so sure, he asked if she wanted to go with the rest of the team, but before long, she knew that he would be asking her to go with him, just the two of them. Baby steps._

 _She nodded furiously at him, not trusting herself with words because knowing her, she might ruin the moment. She watched as he grinned, but his grin was suddenly getting too wide. Juvia's face slowly dropped when he looked too familiar, but not like himself. Gray didn't do toothy grins._

" _Why is Gray-sama mimicking Natsu?"_

 _Gray's smile suddenly fell and instead he looked sheepish. Eventually, the face morphed into that of Natsu's and Juvia's jaw dropped. What the absolute hell?!_

" _Whoops, you weren't meant to recognise me. I just wanted ta cheer you up, y'know? You always look so sad, I didn't want you lookin' like that anymore."_

 _Juvia smiled a little bit even though she was confused. "Juvia guesses that it's the thought that counts, but please, don't dress up like Gray-san again."_

 _Natsu laughed before looking her dead in the eye and said, "wake up."_

" _Huh?"_

" _Wake up. It's time for you to wake up."_

"JUUUUUVIAAAAA!"

Juvia suddenly opened her eyes to the sing song voice and jolted awake, smacking Natsu in the face with her elbow. As she sat up, Natsu fell backwards and out of the tent, clutching his face where Juvia had just hit him. Juvia bit her lip in order to not laugh, but it didn't work.

He groaned as he sat up, pouting when he saw Juvia laughing.

"Not even funny."

"Oh Natsu, Juvia is so sorry! Maybe you shouldn't have been so close."

She snickered and Natsu rolled his eyes with a smile on his face as they crawled out of the tent. The fire was long out and Juvia stood up to stretch. "Juvia must admit, sleeping in a tent is quite comfortable. Maybe we should go camping again."

Natsu had walked over his tent and looked at the girl over his shoulder. She was looking at him with bright eyes and a wide smile. She was actually being genuine about wanting to camp again. He didn't know many girls who wanted to camp. Maybe it was because it wasn't Lucy's style and Erza brought too many things that it wouldn't be suitable to camp.

"Are you being serious?"

Juvia nodded her head. "Yup! Juvia would like to camp again with Natsu some time."

He grinned at her and nodded his head. He had a camping buddy again! And he actually got his own tent because Happy always insisted on sharing with him as he was afraid of the forest, and when he did, he swore that even though Happy was tiny, he moved around like a bulldozer.

"Sweet! Well, let's get going and start heading back to the train station. Don't want to miss our train do we?"

He said that with heavy sarcasm, which in turn made Juvia giggle, understanding that as a dragon slayer, he absolutely hated transport. She gathered her toiletries seal and spare clothes seal before telling Natsu that she was going to look for a river or a stream to go and shower in to freshen up. He nodded, telling her to be careful and she set off.

She thought back to the dream that she had just woken up from and it seemed like even in her dreams, Natsu was still the same caring guy that he was in real life. He wanted to make sure that she was over and even tried to cheer her up by transforming into Gray. Although it was just a dream, she was thankful that the guild had a guy like Natsu.

She cleaned up and headed back so that Natsu could go and clean up too. She released her breakfast seal and waited for Natsu to get back so that they could eat. She could suddenly hear him running back and when he finally came into view, she couldn't get but smile at the contagious grin he was giving her.

"I thought I could smell something! I swear, your food is the best!" He sat himself down next to her before they started eating. It made Juvia feel good to know that there was someone who constantly praised her on her culinary skills. To think that he had even praised her on her magic not even a day before. It really meant something to her.

" _Oh love rival, you didn't even know how good you had it."_

Her mind slowly started to fall back on Gray. Just because she told herself she wasn't going after him anymore, didn't mean it was actually easy to get over him. She just couldn't understand what it was that made her so unattractive in his eyes. Was it because she was constantly in his face about her feelings towards him? Maybe it was because she spoke in third person? Or is it because she wore too much blue? NO! It must have been because she wore too many items of clothing!

Her shoulders sunk and she didn't even realise that a steady flow of tears were making their way down her face. They were silent tears and she couldn't help but let them run once she realised that they were there.

Natsu looked over at her when he realised that he could smell wet salt, almost like tears. He frowned before coming to sit closer to her and put his arm around her. She was surprised and when she looked up at him, he was giving her a warm smile. Despite the warmth that she felt, the smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Hey, stop thinking of that bastard, he's not even worth it."

Juvia giggled as she started wiping her tears from her face and nodded her head at him. She knew that he too was hurting over Lucy, but if he could smile and move on like it didn't affect him, then so could she.

~x~

Their train journey was another silent one again, because Natsu had told Juvia to knock him out once more before they got on the train. Juvia tried to tell him that she had a spell for him, but he didn't let her finish and was so adamant to be knocked out, that Juvia just sighed and right hooked him in the temple. She cringed when he crumpled because she knew that she was stronger than most females and a good majority of men too.

Now they were walking back to the guild, Natsu's arms behind his head and Juvia's arms behind her back as they were walking. They were walking in a comfortable silence and the odd time, a civilian would ask Natsu where his team was, to which he replied, he is with his team. It made Juvia blush as she smiled at anyone who smiled at her.

"Hey Juvia? When we get in there, just keep your smile intact okay? Can't let them know that they've brought down our spirits now do we?"

They were nearly at the front of the guild and Juvia turned to regard the older teen standing next to her. She raised an eyebrow at him and he motioned towards the door of the guild.

"I don't want them pitying us, y'know? I just want them to treat us the same because knowing them, their smiles will be fake in order to try make us feel better. I don't want them to do that for me and I definitely don't want them to do that for you. We're stronger than that."

Juvia nodded her head, as she sighed. It was true. The last thing she needed was for them to start pitying her and for Mira to go on and on about how she was so sure that Gray would get with her eventually. It was all very tiring. She got where Natsu was coming from.

"Natsu is right, we're way stronger than that, we beat up those bandits with no other help! Juvia agrees!"

Natsu cheered as he childishly threw up his hands. "That's the spirit! Now let's go in there and give them the best smiles we've got!"

Juvia laughed as Natsu smashed open the guild door. " _Gray-sama may not be Juvia's, but Juvia does have a very good friend."_

The doors almost fell off of the hinges and nobody in the guild flinched, already knowing who it was. Juvia panicked, thinking that the door was going to fall, and the last thing she wanted to do was piss off the master. Some people looked at Natsu's grand entrance before they turned back to what they were doing. Wakaba and Macao decided to take a jab at the younger mage.

"You dragged Juvia into your stupid jobs now?" Wakaba was smirking when he said that, and Macao laughed, deciding to join in.

"Let's just hope his idiocy isn't contagious." They both fell about laughing, thinking that they were the two funniest people alive. Juvia knew that on a normal day, Natsu wouldn't have gotten upset or offended, just heated and angry, resulting in a guild brawl. Right now, she watched as his fists tightened by his side and his teeth were grinding dangerously against one another. Those words cut deep into his fragile, emotional state.

Suddenly, he turned to Juvia with a huge grin on his face, his earlier anger and upset feeling, vanishing. Juvia looked up at him and if you were a surface looker, you would think that Natsu was beyond okay, that he was great! Looking further, she saw the emptiness in his eyes, the fact that his grin was shaking and his fists were still clenched.

"Hey Juvia, you okay there?"

She jumped out of her thoughts and her eyebrows furrowed. She should be the one asking that question! She watched as his grin dropped a little bit and he shook his head at her.

"I'm fine...just...don't."

He hated and loved her ability to see through him. He didn't want it to cause a scene, not know. He watched as she sighed and she let it go and he smiled gratefully towards her. An idea then popped into his head.

"Hey, we should go on a job again sometime!"

Juvia blinked at the sudden change in behaviour, but shrugged it off. No matter how upset Natsu was, he was always quick to change subjects, even if he wasn't sad. She grinned back at him and nodded her head in excitement.

"Yes! Juvia would love to accompany Natsu on another job, especially if we get to go camping again! Shall we go again right now?"

When Juvia says she has never seen Natsu's eyes sparkle with so much joy before, she meant it, and she had seen him sneak off with an S mage class job before in nothing but pure mischief in his eyes. Before long, she was wrapped up in the tightest hug known to man as Natsu was literally crushing her internal organs and shedding anime tears. Thank God she had her water body to hand.

"YOU'RE THE BEST, NOBODY HAS EVER DONE TWO JOBS IN A ROW WITH ME BEFORE!"

Juvia blushed when she realised that Natsu was probably the first guy to hug her. Yeah, sure, she had hugged Gray on many, MANY different occasions, but this was different. A guy had actually initiated the hug, and right now, that guy was actually Natsu. Normally, she would have wished that it was Gray holding her, but right now, she couldn't give a bigger crap about Gray. She was able to make Natsu happy and that's honestly all that mattered to her.

Nobody in the guild really listened to what Natsu was screaming about this time, because he was always shouting. Gajeel who had gotten back from his job with Levy earlier in the morning was the only one to pay attention. He noticed the smiling faces of his best friend and the Salamander, and he smirked affectionately. As much as Natsu was his rival, he noticed how ostracized he was by his own teammates which had actually annoyed him, and he was happy that Juvia was finally talking to someone other than the stupid exhibitionist.

"Yosh! Let's go and see what's on the request board today!" Natsu dragged Juvia once again by her wrist and when he remembered that he was dragging her in all his excitement, he was about to slow down so that she could catch up, but soon enough, she was pulling him to hurry up too. He looked at her as she wore a simple smile on her face as she was going through the jobs on the board. He couldn't help but stare.

It was the first time a girl hadn't hit him for such childish antics, unlike Lucy who would have given him a 'Lucy kick', or Erza who would have straight away punched the life out of him. He liked it. He made a mental note to go on more jobs with Juvia in the future.

Natsu looked over the board, thinking of what job him and Juvia should take. Maybe not another job with bandits, that proved to be kinda easy. But then again, if they did a job that was just a convoy, he wouldn't get to see Juvia fight, and he found that he actually loved watching her fight. It was such a different style from his!

He suddenly saw one and ripped it off the board. "Hey Juve, what about this one?"

Juvia hummed as she narrowed her eyes when she looked at it. After reading the description, she shook her head at him.

"Sorry Natsu, but in Juvia's opinion, this job is way too easy for us and we're not that weak. Juvia thinks you should pick another job. Oh, maybe another job with a camping opportunity!"

Her eyes sparkled as she jumped up and down, clapping her hands. Natsu laughed at her antics and nodded his head. He honestly hadn't had a partner who had enjoyed camping this much ever since Lisanna died. Lucy hated it, but here Juvia was, telling him to get a job with a camping opportunity.

"You got it!" He pinned that job back up on the board, nudged Nab out of his way and saw another. He grabbed for it.

"It says this one is part one of a job!"

Juvia looked interested as she looked down at the piece of paper that Natsu was holding. They had to scout out a guild and receive information on that guild before they were allowed to do the full on job of returning. It was all based on some book. They had to scout and retrieve and then return the book to someone. Simple enough, but the money was so high, showing that the job was extremely hard.

Juvia nodded her head, excited that they technically had to stay a week out camping. She knew that most girls didn't like the woods. Well, maybe Laki did, with her magic being wood make and all, but none of them really went camping. Juvia looked at it, it was all nature, and she could feel at one with the natural water around her. In fact, it strengthened her when she stayed near natural water.

"Yes, Juvia likes that one! Okay, well, let's go and see the availability, then we have to go and meet our client, correct? Hmm, shall we meet up in say 3 hours?"

Natsu pouted. He didn't want to wait, he wanted to go now! "Why do we have to wait 3 hours?"

Juvia laughed as they were walking towards Mira. "Because silly, Juvia has to restock up on the food that we're going to take!"

That was enough to win Natsu over as he handed the job request to Mira who went into the back room to call the client to see if it was still available. He brought Juvia into another bone crushing hug again and Juvia laughed once more.

"YOU REALLY ARE THE BEST!"

Juvia blushed. It was going to take her a while to get used to the compliments that Natsu was throwing at her 100 miles an hour. It was really refreshing. He released her just as Mira was coming out and she smiled at them.

"The job is yours! He will be expecting you some time today."

Natsu fist pumped. "Yosh! Okay Juvia, if you make the food, I'll just make sure our camping stuff is fine! Actually, do you have anymore of those seals? They were really cool."

Juvia nodded her head as they started walking out of the guild. "Of course Juvia has a whole load! If Natsu comes to Juvia's apartment, we can get some then."

"Don't you live in Fairy Hills?"

"Yes, Juvia does. Why?"

"Guys aren't allowed in there. Last time I tried to sneak in, Erza almost took out my eyes, calling me a pervert."

Juvia put a hand to her mouth so that she didn't laugh out loud. Natsu looked at her when he could hear her spluttering and he frowned. "It's not funny!"

That was enough to make Juvia just burst out laughing. "Juvia is just laughing at the thought of Natsu being a pervert! It just doesn't fit!"

Even though she was laughing at him, Natsu was grateful that she didn't see him as a pervert and allowed her to keep on laughing until she stopped. Eventually, she calmed down and wiped the tears that had built up in her eyes and she smiled instead.

"Either way, Gajeel always comes to visit Juvia and sometimes comes to pick Levy up. If you're stealthy enough, maybe Natsu could make his way in too." She turned her head to look at him and blinked when she realised he wasn't standing next to her. She looked around in mild panic before spotting him making his way to the door, his scarf around his face as it covered everything except from his eyes and he was sidestepping with his back up against the wall.

"Uh, what is Natsu doing?"

"I'm being stealthy! Like a ninja, shhh."

Juvia rolled her eyes as she laughed silently and opened the door so that they could make their way up to the flat. Eventually, Natsu got bored of creeping around, especially when he realised that the main person who would beat him up for being in the girl's building was still out on a job.

Without even opening the door yet, Natsu could tell that he would like Juvia's apartment, just based on the smell. It smelt a lot like her and he hadn't even realised how much he enjoyed her scent. It was like ocean spray and fruits, as though she loved for her place to smell fruity.

She opened the door and Natsu was really impressed with how clean her place was. He blushed a little bit when he thought about his own place. He was glad he hadn't invited her to his house, otherwise he would have felt so embarrassed with showing her where he lived. Honestly, he was sure pigs were cleaner than him.

"Let Juvia get the seals so that Natsu can put his stuff in them and while you do that, Juvia will get on with the cooking!

Juvia's going to have to cook a lot of food if we're doing this for a week." She looked thoughtful as she headed for her storage room where she kept the seals.

Natsu looked around the room gingerly, as if just looking too hard, he would end up breaking something. Something on the desk caught his eye as he came forward. There was a huge picture frame filled with different pictures. He saw quite a few with Gajeel, one with Gray, though Gray didn't look entirely happy with that, and some from other missions that she had done with a few people. He smiled at the idea of her collage, but frowned when he noticed something.

"Hey Juvia?"

"Yes?"

"How comes you've got no pictures of me on here?"

There was no reply as he heard her moving about in the storage room. She was probably trying to get the seals before she came out to explain herself. Eventually, she was holding a box full of them and she put them on the floor in her living room. She shrugged sheepishly.

"Sorry Natsu, you know how crazy Juvia was about Gray-san, seeing as you were his rival and despite us being friend, Juvia didn't manage to get one of you. We've never actually been on a mission until today really."

Natsu frowned once more before grinning. "Okay, well then, we have to change that now, don't we?"

His happiness was contagious as it lifted Juvia's spirit and she nodded to him. "Yes, that would be great! Oh and Juvia needs Natsu's help with something. Think you can do it?"

"Depends on what it is really."

Juvia nodded her head, knowing fully well that he will enjoy himself in what she was about to make him do. "Well, Juvia needs you to burn all of the Gray-san things that-"

"SAY NO MORE! Lucy told me about your obsession with Gray toys and stuff and I would be MORE than happy to trash anything with that bastard's face on it! Let me at em, let me at em!" He looked like he was ready to be bouncing all over the walls and his eyes were lit with the uttermost excitement.

Juvia laughed and went back into the storage room. Natsu had noted the flat tone that she had used when she laughed, almost as though it was still painful for her to let him go like that. She brought out a black bag and tipped everything out of the bag. Natsu moved over to her and hugged her as she stared at the bag.

"Hey, it's fine alright? You were strong before you met him and you can be even stronger without him again, okay? Trust me." Juvia nodded as she sighed and wrapped her arms around him. Natsu put his chin on her head and gave her a quick squeeze before they released one another.

"Well here we go!"

Juvia laughed once more before she saw Natsu's hand light up. Her face turned into one of horror as she realised that Natsu was going to do it in the middle of her apartment before she tried to jump forward and stop him. "No wait, Natsu-"

Too late, they all went up in flames in the living room and Juvia swore lightly before she used her magic to put out the fire. Natsu pouted when his flames go out, but because of how strong his magic is now, he grinned when all the Gray merchandise that Juvia had made herself was reduced to nothing but ashes. He snickered and Juvia punched his shoulder lightly, making him laugh even more.

"Natsu, not in the house! Are you _trying_ to burn down Fairy Hills, so that Erza can come and beat you up?"

He shook his head, thinking about how his team weren't in Magnolia and how they had left without him. He thought of how if he did burn down Fairy Hills, there was no way Erza would greet him, but rather, would come and kill him instead. That's why he liked Juvia. She seemed so rational about these sort of things. Instead, he ridded his 'team' from his mind and focused on the girl in front of him.

"Yeah, I didn't quite think that through did I? Okay, now that's done, show me the seals and then we can start cooking before we leave!"

Juvia brought out a seal to show him how to use it and he transferred all his camping equipment into it. Juvia got a label machine and labeled all the seals that he made, so that he didn't ever forget which was which. He was super grateful for that.

"Is Natsu good for a change of clothes?"

"Oh shit, I knew I forgot something! I really can't be bothered to go back home though!"

"Okay, well, Juvia has some stuff that belonged to Gajeel when we were younger and he wasn't as tall as he is now. Maybe Natsu would want to wear it, JUST for the job?" She had seen the way he was ready to protest about wearing prepubescent clothes that belonged to Gajeel, but when Juvia said that, he sighed harshly and nodded, making Juvia smile.

"If we're going to keep going on jobs together and Natsu can't be bothered to go home before we start a job, maybe Natsu can leave some of his clothes here? Gajeel leaves his stuff at Levy's now anyway."

Natsu brightened up when Juvia started preparing the food. "Okay, that sounds good! You're closer to the station anyway, and if we need to make this much food, it will be best if my clothes are here so that I can help you out instead of go home and come back here."

Juvia just grinned at him. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

So how was that? Good enough? Up to your standards? Definitely the Lolita way of writing? Lol.

As you can already see, I'm derailing a bit from Sakura's (shortened her name) story and have started Lolita-ing it up. I felt like a lot more could have been done to build up their friendship, rather than them just jumping straight into the job and all that. I didn't add in the part where Natsu's team piss him off, but DON'T WORRY. THAT SCENE WILL BE THERE. I just felt like the story moved a little too fast and I'm just gonna sloooow it riiiiight down. Bear with me on this!

Other than that, most things that are in the story will remain (if not, all), it's just that I'm adding in parts which will make you wonder, 'Lolita, please don't remove this' or 'please make sure to keep this in!' I hear ya guys! Literally everything will still be in there!

Please don't forget to rate or hate, flames or floods! You guys are honestly killing me with your sweet reviews, really and truly, I love you guys to bits! To think that people still read my stories (or ones I've adopted lol) for just over 5 years! Thank you guys!

One final thing before I sign off! Please don't expect me to update like really quickly! I like for you guys to digest the chapter that I've brought out before I bring out another. Also, I have many, MANY other stories that need updating as well as work and university life, I just wish I could clone myself to get it all done! But alas, I am but one person who can not. Please consider this when some of you review 'PLEASE UPDATE', or 'UPDATE SOON', or 'PLEASE CONTINUE'. I have no intentions on abandoning this story, but I have no intentions on abandoning my other stuff too!

Lolita-chan


	3. A good team

Hey, Dark Gothic Lolita here!

I've finally brought out a new chapter to this story too! I've heard lots of positive stuff from you guys, saying that you like it a little more than the original! Honestly, all I can say to you guys is thank you for reading and enjoying the story as well! You know me, I like to give out long chapters lol. Well here's another one!

Disclaimers and apologies for poor grammar and spelling (Yato isn't mine, he's Sakura's)

ENJOY!

* * *

 **Heartbroken**

 **A good team**

The two mages finally got off the train. Well one of them was helping the other try and make his way off of the train anyway, while the female felt nothing but pity for her partner. "You okay now?"

"Yeah, give me a few minutes and I'll be back in shape."

Natsu groaned and rubbed his stomach before he wiped his mouth and stood up straight, breathing in deeply and getting some oxygen into his system. He then gave Juvia a toothy grin to show that he was alright again and Juvia smiled at him, blushing at the way he was smiling at her.

"Okay, let's go see this client then!"

Once again, Natsu grabbed Juvia's wrist and started heading in the direction of where they were told to go and meet their client. Juvia had been expecting that he was going to do that and didn't trip up her feet like the first time. Instead, she just got into the rhythm of his run and mimicked it, making Natsu grin.

Juvia was happy that she hadn't lacked in her training. Contrary to popular belief, she wasn't _always_ stalking Gray and making sure that he ate her bentos that she made him, no. When she went on a job with Gajeel, they trained together and even when she had some alone time, she still trained. She needed to keep up her reputation of being the top 3 strongest female mages in the guild, and that wasn't going to happen by just stalking some guy all day.

She needed her stamina in order to keep up with how fast Natsu ran. She was pretty sure that if she jumped on his back and let him, they would be better off running that getting a train to each and every job that they did.

Soon enough, they were standing at the gate of their employer's house. They stared up at it in awe. Even Everlue's house hadn't been this grand and beautiful! This was definitely the house to the richest man in the town. Natsu looked over at Juvia who in turn looked over at him and they nodded to one another, signalling that they were both ready for it.

Natsu knocked on the door before standing back, and the two of them waited for a response. The door finally swung open to reveal a shorter man with some funny moustache. He gave the mages a curious look before spotting the insignia on Natsu's shoulder, which made him welcoming to them.

"You must be mages from Fairy Tail! Oh please, do come in!" He stepped aside for the two of them to walk past him. He called one of his butler's to get some refreshments and drinks, to which the man bowed and left. Their employer ushered them to his guest front room himself.

"Please, do have a seat!"

Natsu looked at Juvia and pointed to the cushioned sofa, letting her sit down before he sat down next to her. It made her blush, him offering her to sit down before he did and the employer didn't miss that.

"I'm so glad that you guys finally came! So who do I have today? Oh, where are my manners, I'm Yato Iki!"

"Yo, I'm Natsu Dragneel." He grinned at the man and they both shook hands, Yato's eyes shining bright with recognition.

"It truly is an honour to be in the presence of the Salamander himself! I know that this job with definitely go smoothly now! And who might this young beautiful mage be?"

"Juvia Lockser," she replied coldly. She spotted Natsu giving her a dirty look and she blushed. She knew she sounded uninviting and rude, but when it came to meeting employers, she was strictly about the business which was the opposite of Natsu.

"Of course, you're the rain woman! I certainly to have some strong mages on this job today!"

Juvia blushed and waved her hand. "Oh please, Juvia isn't _that_ strong." She started giggling and Natsu rolled his eyes.

" _Oh sure, NOW you lighten up,"_ but he was smiling at her behaviour anyway.

"Well, I better start explaining your job for the both of you then! An important book from my library has been stolen. We need to get to get it back. For generations, my family has made sure that this books has been kept safe and out of the hands of those from dark guilds. We are more of a warring clan, but lately, we have been reduced in numbers, meaning I am one of the last left of my family."

Juvia nodded and even Natsu looked serious. "What is this book about that it's so wanted by those from dark guilds?"

The man sighed deeply. "I'm sure you're well aware of Zeref and his many demons from the book known as E.N.D? This book is the accompanying book. This is the book that has the incantations to reviving E.N.D himself. The book of E.N.D contains E.N.D himself, but this book that we have been keeping for centuries is the book and key to releasing him."

Juvia's eyes widened while Natsu's narrowed. Yato continued. "Why I said you guys will only be scouting is because I know fully well that these people who stole my book are just basic bounty hunters. I just need you guys to scout and make sure that they still have the book and that it's not in the hands of the guild."

The two mages stood up and nodded their heads. "Don't worry Yato, we'll make sure that the book doesn't fall into the wrong hands at all."

The man smiled and looked outside, noticing that the sun was gone. He rang a bell, alerting a butler.

"It's too late for you to start your job, so I'll let you stay here for the night. As I don't have any children, I only have one spare room in my house unfortunately. I'm sorry if that bothers you."

Juvia was ready to complain and say it does with a huge blush on her face, but Natsu jumped forward, draping an arm over her shoulder with a thumbs up.

"Nope, it's fine, we're both good."

The butler arrived and Yato smiled. "Please, tell the chef that we have two more guests, and then if you could show them to their room please."

The butler nodded and bowed before he beckoned the two mages to follow him. They grinned and ran out after him. They were both bickering between themselves as they were up the stairs before the butler opened a door.

"This shall be your room for the night. Make sure to not forget about the job though!", he chuckled, winking to the two mages before leaving.

Natsu and Juvia looked at each other confused that he even spoke, but soon Juvia understood what he was talking about and couldn't look Natsu in the eye. Then, Juvia entered the room and started looking around, analyzing everything.

"Wow, this room is amazing! So big and even the decoration is expensive", she murmured, staring at all the details of the room. Her eyes landed on the bed, and she sighed. "There's only one bed in here though. Juvia would have thought that if there's only one spare room, there would at least be two beds.

Natsu simply plopped himself in the king-sized bed, rolling around like a dog in the grass, not even bothered by this piece of information.

"This bed is soo comfy!"

Juvia raised an eyebrow at the happy dragon slayer. Curious, she sat herself on the bed. After a few moments, she let herself fall on the bed, a wide smile spreading on her lips.

"Natsu-san's right, this bed is so awesoomeee!"

Natsu stopped rolling and drifted his eyes to Juvia, smiling softly. This girl sure was different. Everything from her hair to her personality was different, and he liked it. This was nothing like the gloomy rain woman she seemed to be on the outside, and didn't fit any description Gray ever gave him about her. She was not a stalker, she was not only thinking about her 'Gray-sama', she was confident, caring, loving... He could go on like this for the whole day!

" _That ice princess is a liar,"_ he thought. " _Juvia is not a creepy rain woman. She's a lot more than that. And that makes me hate that ice bastard even more for saying bad things about her!"_

Juvia watched curious as different expressions played on Natsu's face: love, anger, sadness. Suddenly, all of that disappeared as Natsu let out a sigh, erasing any visible emotion from his face.

"Is Natsu-san okay?", Juvia asked cautiously. She knew too well that he was conflicted with himself. Not that she was any different though.

Natsu quickly turned at her with a wide smile spread on his face. He didn't want to talk about Gray, or Lucy? Or about anything that wasn't about the two of them right now. "So Juviaaa."

"Hm?"

"What're we going to do while we stay here and wait for dinner?"

She shrugged. "Juvia doesn't know. What does Natsu-san want to do?"

Natsu stood a moment, thinking. "How 'bout we play somethin'?"

"Hmm. Okay, but what should Natsu-san and Juvia play then?"

Natsu studied her carefully as she sank deep in thought. He started to slowly and silently approach her, like a lion approaching his prey...

And he started tickling her quickly.

Oh she was not expecting that!

Juvia burst into laughter as she tried to stop his hands from tickling her any further. She tumbled around the bed, trying to move away from his hands.

"N-N-Natsu-s-san... S-S-S-top t-tickling me-e! Ha Ha Ha!"

Natsu ignored her completely. In the end, Juvia caught his hands with her elbows (an incredible move, that is), stopping him. He was now behind her, with his arms around her waist.

His arms.

 _Around her waist_.

Juvia blushed furiously as he removed his hands cautiously, so she won't hit him, as Lucy or Erza would. She turned her head towards him, expecting him to have one of those expressions she read in Levy's books. But he, on the other hand, was now thinking of a new tickle attack. He wore one of the most stupid faces Juvia has ever seen.

That was the reason why she burst into uncontrollable laughter the next second.

"Hm? Why're ya' laughing, Juvia?" He wasn't aware of his previous expression which made Juvia laugh even more because he was so wonderfully clueless.

Juvia stood a moment to catch her breath before speaking. "Y-You."

"Me what?"

"Had that face."

"What face?"

"Natsu-san..."

"Yeah?"

"YOU LOOKED HILARIOUS!", she said once again before bursting into laughter again, while Natsu just watched her dumbfounded, thinking girls are weird. Either way, he liked it when she smiled. It suited her. She even sounded cute when she laughed. He liked it.

There was a knock at the door which shocked Natsu as he realised that he was staring and they both looked towards the door.

"Dinner is ready."

"Comming! I bet it's not as good as yours though." Natsu threw a wink at her which instantly made her stop laughing and just stare at his back. He turned around when she wasn't following him.

"C'mon!"

She smiled and ran after him, as they childishly raced each other to the dining room.

* * *

Natsu and Juvia were both sitting on the bed, looking at a piece of paper that Yato had given them at dinner. They were both analyzing it and trying to formulate a plan on how to scout and infiltrate the little bounty hunter's guild.

"I think we should hide under a table, wait for them to come, then come out and kick their arses. There! Job's done!" Natsu grinned and puffed out his chest as he said it, proud of his 'clever' plan.

Juvia rolled her eyes at the hiding place that Natsu suggested. "I think we should split up. One of us will fight them and see what they're capable of. This way we should be able to find an easier way to defeat them, and we'll also have the surprise element on our side, since one of us will be hidden while the other will be fighting", Juvia spoke, proud of her better plan.

"Hmm, sounds good, but complicated. We should find something easier..." Natsu crossed his arms over his chest and pouted, knowing fully well that her plan sounded way better than his.

"It's not complicated at all!" Juvia scoffed, elbowing him.

"Yes it is! My plan is easier and better!", Natsu retorted, and stuck out his tongue at her.

"No it isn't! Juvia's plan is 100% better than Natsu-san's will ever be!"

"MINE!"

"JUVIA'S!"

Natsu and Juvia soon started brawling. The paper fell on the floor, forgotten. After a few good minutes of brawling, Natsu got tired and stopped doing anything. Juvia, seeing this as an advantage for her to win, jumped on him and caught his arms. Now, she was straddling him, their faces only a few inches apart. A smug smile spread on her face.

"Looks like Juvia won, Natsu-sama."

A blush made its way on Natsu's cheeks. Luckily for him, his tanned skin made it hard to notice. Juvia soon realized she changed the suffix at the end of his name and tried to ignore the warmth growing in her cheeks.

"O-Oh, J-Juvia said '-sama'? Sorry, J-Juvia meant-"

"No biggie", Natsu smiled. "I like how it sounds."

She smiled softly, letting out a giggle. They stared at each other for a good minute. Suddenly, she let a squeak and jumped off him, landing on the pillow. Natsu raised an eyebrow, confused.

"Juvia, is everything alright?", he asked concerned.

"J-Juvia is s-so sorry!", she squeaked again.

"Sorry for what?"

"For st-straddling you! It was highly inappropriate!"

Natsu blinked a few times before he burst into laughter. Juvia's blush disappeared as she stared at him, confused.

"Why is Natsu-sama laughing?"

He looked at her for a moment, calming his laughter, then quickly leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose.

"That's no reason for you to be sorry, you idiot!", he chuckled.

Juvia stood a moment to process everything that happened. Soon, she blushed furiously, and she covered her face. Natsu started laughing again and moved her hands away to pinch her cheeks.

"Aww, you're adorable!" He spoke, which only made her face redden even more, if that was possible.

Juvia finally gave up and let herself collapse on the bed again. "Juvia's tired..."

"Yeah, I'm tired too...", Natsu yawned.

They settled themselves in the bed, preparing for sleep. Before closing her eyes, Juvia glared at him.

"Juvia will get her revenge. You'll see."

Natsu only chuckled. "I'm sure you will. Now, shut up and sleep." Soon, they both fell asleep.

' _Again, an amazing night. Why is Juvia so happy when she is with Natsu-sama?"_

* * *

The next morning, the two mages had already set out. They still had to go and find which bounty hunter's guild the thieves were from.

"Okay, judging by the scent, we're still about 5 miles out." Natsu had sniffed down the whole library and managed to smell the lingering smell of the bounty hunters. They thanked Yato for letting them stay in his house for the night and told him they'll see him in about a week.

"Okay, we keep going." Juvia tried her best not to groan out loud. She had decided to do the nice thing and not get a train, because they needed Natsu's nose. That and they wouldn't be able to pinpoint their scent while speeding around on a train.

Natsu smirked at her, knowing fully well that she really wanted to scream in frustration. He could hear it in her tone of voice. Still, he was grateful that she wasn't complaining the whole way, much like Lucy would. And she also understood that they needed his nose to find their way around.

Suddenly, Natsu stopped short and Juvia almost bumped into him. She rubbed at her head and stared up at him, ready to ask what it was when she saw him staring at some random guy. She raised an eyebrow and watched as the guy purchased some oranges, laughing with all the women at their stalls, jeering with the men as well. Juvia narrowed her eyes when she noticed him take some money from someone's pocket without them knowing.

"Juvia guesses that he is one of the thieves."

"Bingo. We just gotta follow him now and he leads us to where we're going."

Natsu was more than happy to want to follow him straight away but Juvia grabbed his hand and shook her head at him.

"Natsu seems to forgotten that we're quite popular people. If we get too close to him and people start screaming our names, we're done! Could you not pinpoint his scent so that we could follow him while he's out of earshot and that way he won't know we're anywhere near him?"

Natsu looked down at Juvia as if that were the best explanation ever. It probably was. Sharp and to the point, as well as the fact that he got where she was coming from. If people started screaming their names while he was around, he would instantly know that they were on a mission to target him.

"Okay, got it."

Now that Natsu had his scent locked on, it wouldn't have even mattered if they lost sight of him, because they would be able to find him anyway. They let him get away, or at least out of earshot before they decided to follow him. Juvia stayed on one side and Natsu stayed on another. They saw him take a path down into the forest and both mages nodded to each other.

They watched him make his way through the trees before following, making sure not to step on any sticks that may crack and get his attention. Juvia didn't know why she looked up, but it looked as if in the distance, there were many trees twisting up together. She raised an eyebrow at it and squinted her eyes. Was...was that a building in all the leaves of those trees?!

She stuck her hand out to stop Natsu who came to an abrupt stop. He almost yelled out but Juvia put a finger to her lips. He gave her a questioning look and she used that same finger in her lips to then point upwards. Natsu followed her finger, and for a while, he had a blank look on his face before his eyes widened.

"Their guild is up in the trees? Like a treehouse?" At least he knew to whisper and Juvia nodded her head as they hid behind a tree and watched the bounty hunter use some method of transportation to get up into the tree. Natsu huffed.

"Well this sucks. If we camp out, they'll see our tents from a mile away! They've got the better advantage to see who will be coming."

Juvia nodded in agreement, wondering what their next move was going to be. "Can you smell how many people are in there usually and how many there are now? Juvia is pretty sure that bounty hunter guilds don't have a lot of people in them because they're all too stingy to want to work together."

Natsu inhaled deeply. "I got 3 people in there now and 2 faint scents. That makes 5 of them. The 2 faint scents are pretty strong though, like they only left like an hour ago or something."

Juvia nodded her head. "And from here, you can still hear their conversation loud and clear right?"

Natsu grinned and nodded his head. Juvia was really good at this. Well he actually listened to her, mostly because his dragon slayer skills were more than just hot flames and she knew that. This was a perk with working with Gajeel for so long, she just understood him.

Juvia went silent so that Natsu could concentrate and he just stood there normally, listening in on a conversation as if he were right there talking to them.

"They're saying that the guy who employed them is coming some time today. They don't know who he is or what they look like, but they don't care, as long as they get their 10,000,000 jewels. Wow, that's a looooot of jewels! This dark guild must be seriously loaded! Wait, why are you smirking like that?"

Natsu wanted in on why Juvia was smiling like that. She definitely had a plan up her sleeves and if anything, he found that he quite liked her plans. He rubbed his hands together with a smirk.

"I like that look, tell me!"

"Well Natsu-san, Juvia has been learning basic transformation magic with Mira and Lisanna, and Juvia just thought that maybe she could put that to good use. Also, when Juvia was younger, we used to have alchemy lessons in the orphanage. Juvia was really good at it then, and although she hasn't done it in a while, Juvia is pretty sure we can still fool them. Don't worry if you don't know what alchemy is, it's hard to explain."

She had seen him tilt his head in question but decided to let it go when she said it would be hard to explain. He grinned.

"So are you going to transform into something?"

"No, not Juvia, Natsu-san. Juvia feels like Natsu wouldn't want to miss out on this for anyone. Act like how you did back in Edolas when you, Wendy and Gajeel-kun were scaring all the people!"

Natsu laughed silently, trying not to alert the bounty hunters that they were there.

"Okay, so Juvia can only hold the transformation spell, longest about 10 minutes. First of all, we need to pick up a lot of stones and pebbles. Juvia will use alchemy on them to transform them into jewels. Luckily Juvia can still hold alchemy for at least 2 hours, before they turn back into stones and pebbles. By then, we should be far away from this place."

Natsu smirked, enjoying this plan as he helped pick up the stones and pebbles. When they were picking up the last few, Juvia saw a nice smooth pebble and smiled. That was until Natsu went for the same one and grabbed her hand instead of the pebble.

Juvia's face went red and Natsu didn't mind as much. "Oh, s-sorry Natsu-san."

"Hey, no sweat, great minds think alike right? We both saw a good pebble and wanted it." He shot her a toothy grin and Juvia shyly smiled back, nodding her head and accepting it.

"Okay, now Juvia just has to write an alchemy circle..." Natsu watched as she put the pebbles in a bag, brought out some chalk and started writing on the earth floor. He found it fascinating as it looked like she was literally writing up a magic circle. Once she was done, she put the bag in the middle, clapped her hands together before slamming it down into the circle.

Natsu stared in awe as the circle lit up in a golden colour before it died down. She picked up the bag and wiped out the circles markings so that no one knew they had been there. Although most people didn't know what alchemy was, if someone from a dark guild was to pass by, they might have seen the circle and would have been able to trace it back to who did it.

"Look inside the bag, Natsu-san."

She was grinning, feeling proud of herself as Natsu pulled out one of the 'jewels' from the bag and his jaw dropped. It looks so real!

"No, way," he gasped out in surprise. He twisted it round, observing it from every angle. "That is so cool."

Juvia's chest swelled in pride as she thought to herself that she was the one who did that. "Before Natsu asks, no, you can not do that all the time because eventually, it will turn back to the pebbles and stones that they once were. It also breeches the alchemy rights. You can't use alchemy for your own personal gain. That was something we all learnt at the orphanage."

Natsu nodded his head, understanding that much. "Okay, are you going to transform me?"

Juvia nodded her head and Natsu was excited. He grinned as she chanted a spell under her breath. She wasn't on the level of the Strauss siblings where she could just call out the name of the spell, she still had to chant first.

Soon enough, Natsu was standing right in front of her with white hair, purple eyes and extremely pale skin, almost like her own. His outfit had changed too. He wore a black cloak and the bottom of it had live black flames burning from it. He also had huge black horns sitting on top of his head and his fangs were more prominent.

His appearance took Juvia's breath away. Somehow, he had managed to look devilishly handsome. That smirk he gave her with his fangs hanging out of his mouth was enough to make her knees weak. His purple eyes shone brightly with nothing but pure mischief.

"How do I look?"

Oh Kami, even his voice was gruff. She brought out a pocket mirror and showed him and Natsu was in love with his own look.

"I look so cool!" He then opened his mouth and black flames came creeping out. He went wild with that. "Okay, give me the bag and let me head out. Be back soon."

He stepped away from behind the tree and made his way to the tree house. He stood at the bottom of the tree, trying to think of a cool way to get in, when he suddenly smirked. He remembered how Zancrow had come to fight him back on Tenrou Island and decided that that was the way he was going to get in.

He turned into a cloud of black smoke, almost like what Juvia does with her water body, and he seeped into the building. The hunters stopped dead when they saw the smoke turn into a figure and they gulped softly, trying to hide the fact that they were getting closer together to try and hide the fact that they were scared. Natsu smirked. Oh, he was definitely enjoying this.

"The book?"

"The money?"

One of the bounty hunters had spoken out in reflex as he was used to being his own boss. The other two stared at him as his eyes went wide at the mistake that he had just made. He was just a guy who was stronger than the average man without magical elements, trying to back talk to a guy from a dark guild. Smart move.

Natsu's purple eyes slowly turned to him and the man went stiff. "The book", he repeated.

"H-here!" One of the other two came running towards him and literally threw the book at him so that he didn't have to come that close to him. Natsu was laughing his head off internally and even let black flames seep from his mouth when he gave them a sinister toothy grin.

"Pleasure doing business with you. And you. I would suggest that you don't sass someone who could kill you in a heartbeat. Here's your money."

Natsu lit up the bag, knowing fully well that the jewels wouldn't burn, before he threw it straight into the rude bounty hunter's head, where he passed out from the contact. The other two stared at their fallen comrade before staring at Natsu who was no longer there.

Natsu was chuckling darkly as he grabbed Juvia and teleported away before she could even speak. They ended up on the edge of the forest and Juvia dispelled the transformation magic that she put on Natsu and he started pouting.

"Aww man, I was so sick in there! If you saw me, even you would have been shitting yourself!"

Juvia rolled her eyes with a grin on her face and shook her head. "C'mon Natsu-san, let's get as far away from here as possible and get the book back before they suspect us or anything. But this means we can't go camping now."

Now it was Juvia's turn to pout and Natsu laughed before slinging his arms around her shoulders and bringing her close into his personal bubble.

"That just means that now, we can camp with no distractions and it will be all fun! Instead of doing it here, we can go back to Magnolia and do it there."

Juvia started jumping up and down in happiness as she stuffed the book into a seal and labelled it. Her eyes were shining as she looked up at Natsu and he couldn't help but blush. Why did Juvia look so...so beautiful?

"We make a pretty good team", she said while grinning up at him. Natsu smiled back and waited for her to turn around and start walking before his smile lost its shine and his shoulders sagged down a little. Good team huh? That reminded him of Lucy and how they were barely a team anymore. He shook his head, shaking off all the negative thoughts as he realised that he did work really well with Juvia and that they even managed to pull off a prank while doing a job.

He stood up tall instead of slouching and his easy grin came back to him as he looked at all the positives.

"Yeah, we do."

* * *

So how was that chapter for ya? Good enough? I hope so!

So, as you probably read, I added in little elements of Fullmetal alchemist in there lol. Alchemy is actually a thing and with Fairy Tail obviously using magic, to me I just see their magic as a more modern form of alchemy, so I had Juvia use it lol. I also used the idea that Kagura can use gravity magic even though it's not her primary one and again made Juvia start learning transformation magic from the Strauss sisters.

You can also see that the story got a little fluffy lol. A HUGE chunk of this chapter is still Sakura's (mainly the top half), so I decided to keep their fluffy moments in there. This however doesn't mean that they've already started falling for each other. Hell no. From here, they're just starting to get comfortable with one another, like a proper team. Soon enough they'll be very comfortable around each other lol.

Please, I can't stress this enough! If you enjoy reading Navia stories, I have a friend who has set up a Navia community called **Spread the Navia** which I am staff from! If you ever need your daily dosage of Navia, there are a load in the community for you to read!

Please don't forget to rate or hate, flames or floods! I love reviews and I love all of you!

Lolita-chan


	4. To get to know you

Hey, Dark Gothic Lolita here!

So you guys must have been waiting just a little while for this chapter, so here it is! I'm gonna be super busy soon, after Christmas, I've got exams, so I'm gonna be studying super hard for those over the Christmas period. You may see a little cheeky update here and there, but don't hold your breath on that one lol.

Thank you for all your positive reviews on this story, trust me, I do have an idea for where this is going, some of you ask questions that will just make me ruin the surprise lol.

Disclaimers *insert here* apologies for poor grammar and spelling!

ENJOY!

* * *

 **Heartbroken**

 **To get to know you**

"Here looks like the _perfect_ spot to set up camp! Hey Juvia, let's stop here!"

The two mages had gone back to Yato to give him back the book to which he cheered. He had paid them so well for getting the book back in one day, as opposed to the one week that he had thought it would take.

"You guys are incredible! I was thinking that sending two young mages who are in love would slow the job right down, but you guys put your love aside for the job and did what was expected of you! I'm proud of you guys!"

He made the two of them blush as they were trying to explain that they were definitely not in love with each other, but the old man wasn't having it. He had just laughed at their supposed denial, waving his hand dismissively at them both as they blushed and left his house with their money.

"It is a very nice clearing. It's easy to set up the tents here."

"Yeah exactly! Plus, now we're back in Magnolia, my house is only like 3 miles that way and there's a stream nearby so that we can go fishing!"

Natsu was practically bouncing around in joy as Juvia laughed and pulled out two seals. She threw Natsu one and kept one for herself as it held their tents.

"I can imagine fishing with you right now. Oh man, why did I never think to bring you along on a fishing trip?! Fishing with a water mage is _way_ easier! I can't wait to tell Happy that we..."

Juvia looked over her shoulder and at Natsu when she heard him cut himself off. He was staring down at the tent that he had just released with a face of sadness and loneliness. It reminded Juvia of how she used to look back when she was younger and if there was one person in the world who shouldn't have that look, it should be Natsu.

She ditched her tent on the floor and walked up to Natsu before putting her arms around him and pushing her front up against his back. Her touch seemed to bring him back to reality as he raised his hand to touch hers that had crossed over his chest. He could feel her water moving near him, as if to wash his worries away. Even though she was a water mage, he felt like she was the one warming him up, bringing him back to how he should be. He smiled a little at her actions.

"Thank you..."

Juvia slowly released her arms from around him with a big grin.

"Remember that Juvia is here. If Natsu needs to talk, Juvia is all ears. For now, let's see who can set up their tent the fastest."

Juvia ran back over to her tent and Natsu smirked. "Oh please, this will be your first tent that you're putting up and you think you can beat me?"

Juvia was silent as she had already started putting hers up and Natsu cursed under his breath, surprised that she actually knew what she was doing. He quickly turned to his, setting it up as fast as he could, worried that Juvia might beat him, but when he turned around, he grinned. She wasn't finished!

He snuck up behind her, noticing her little problem and laughed out loud when the tent actually fell on her head. He heard her huff from underneath it as she tried to find her way out of the material. He still had tears in eyes from him laughing too hard at her predicament.

"Hey, I got it."

He lifted it up so easily from off of her head and when she stood up, she didn't realise how close she would standing in front of him as they found themselves staring into each other's eyes. They both stood still, gazing into one another's eyes, not knowing how and when to pull away.

"Er, I can set your tent up for you. Just make sure you watch this time around because next time, you're doing it by yourself, got it?"

Natsu quickly looked away and Juvia shook herself out of her thoughts about Natsu's eyes and tried to concentrate on what Natsu was doing in front of her. She knew that he was rambling on due to the awkward moment that they had just experienced, but if she knew Natsu, she knew that the awkwardness would pass on soon anyway and they would go back to normal. It was just so easy with him.

" _Although Natsu's eyes are black, they have the strangest tint of green in them. He has really pretty eyes. Juvia is jealous."_

She watched how her tent stood up and she pouted. Natsu was too good at this camping stuff. Well she guessed that this was something that he had been doing since he was a kid, so if he wasn't good, that would be quite worrying. At least she could say that she was the better cook.

As if on cue, Natsu's stomach started talking in ways that all Natsu could do was stand there, scratch the back of his head and look sheepish. It was Juvia's turn to burst out laughing as she went through her jacket, looking for their dinner seal. Natsu started getting excited when the seal was out in front of him.

"Wait, wait! Can I open it?!"

Juvia gave Natsu a skeptical look. So she may have forgotten the first time to tell Natsu that in order to release the items from a seal, you don't need a lot of magic. Natsu ended up burning one of the blankets that Juvia had put inside of the seal. Luckily she was an organised person who brought a few supplies, not just one.

"Well, okay. JUST DON'T BURN THE FOOD!"

Natsu nodded, sweating bullets. He wanted to show Juvia that he could do it, but at the same time, he was doubting himself. This was _food_ he was dealing with! If he ruined it now, what would happen next? Well, Juvia had loads more dinner seals, but that was besides the point. He couldn't let her down now.

He concentrated so hard on the seal and his wave of magic. The magic that he usually felt floating around his body took a detour to his hand as he let out the smallest little dribble pour into the seal, ultimately opening it up. He closed his eyes in shock, not wanting to see what the food will come out looking like. Juvia's cry or cheer would indicate to him just how well he's done anyway.

"Well done! It came out perfectly, thank Kami!"

He opened his eyes to see the little feast in front of him and he jumped and down, cheering for his life that he was able to open up one of the seals he handed it back to Juvia who placed it in her pocket as she grabbed a plate of ramen.

They both sat there, eating and talking, laughing and joking about things. They could both feel their hearts getting lighter, but the pain and heartache was still there. Of course it wasn't something that would go away over night, they just had to find ways to distract themselves before they were fully over it.

When they finished eating, Juvia used her water to wash out all of the plates that they used. Natsu smiled happily after being fed. He honestly couldn't get over how good her food was! He gathered that if she wasn't a mage, Juvia would hands down own the best restaurant in all of Magnolia-no! Fiore!

"So what does Natsu usually do to pass time? Juvia's never really been camping and seeing as there isn't anything run by lacryma here, how does Natsu pass time?" She didn't really want to admit to him that she was getting bored. This was something that he loved to do.

"Usually I fish, do some training and believe it or not, meditate. Okay, so my concentration to meditate isn't that great, but I still try! When I camp, it's mostly to do some training though."

Juvia nodded her head and looked really thoughtful. She needed to get a lot of training time done as she had been slacking lately. Plus, it was such a bonus to train with Natsu and seeing as their elements were the exact polar opposites, it would be good to train with him.

"So can Juvia train with Natsu then? Juvia would love to get in a lot of training time this week, it would help a lot. Juvia understands if Natsu doesn't want to though." She didn't want to impose herself on his training and maybe he might see her as too weak, but all her doubts were washed away when she saw the genuine excitement light up his face.

"No, no, that's PERFECT! Aww man, this is gonna be so sweet, fighting against a water mage! I've never done that before! It's risky, I could evaporate your water or you can completely drown out my fire! Why have we never thought about this before? Also, you're super strong. I'm all fired up now!"

Just to show how fired up he was, he let a stream of fire fly out of his mouth which in turn made Juvia laugh at his childish excitement. You honestly couldn't stay sad for long when you're around Natsu, he just wouldn't let you be.

"Okay, seeing as we've still got a bit of time left and we just had lunch, why don't we train until dinner time?"

Natsu nodded in agreement, enjoying this idea. He got easily bored when he had to train by himself. Sure it was helpful to do so, but it was just super boring after a while. Here, he can try and make up new spells while actually getting to try it in a fighting situation, against his elemental weakness as well. It was perfect.

"Okay, let's head over to the nearest clearing away from this one. Can't have our stuff being destroyed can we?"

Juvia nodded her head before placing all the seals into a bag in her tent. She knew that Natsu fought hard and tough, she wasn't about to have all the seals destroyed on her persons. She followed Natsu, but because he was so excited, she was literally running after him. She was happy that she was always constantly working on her stamina. Natsu could have been really hard to keep up with.

He came to a halt and Juvia stopped next to him, looking around. It was a good sized clearing, no trees in the way, but they still had areas of ambush and to hide if need be. "This is perfect," she breathed. Natsu grinned before taking off to the other side as Juvia turned to face the direction he had gone in.

"Two rules. No killing and we end the fight by saying 'I'm tired.' Got it?"

Juvia tilted her head to one side, a little confused. "Why are we saying 'I'm tired'?"

Natsu shrugged his shoulders. "I hate the sound of I gave up. We're members of Fairy Tail, we don't give up, we keep on trying."

Juvia smiled softly, enjoying his reasoning. It was a very sound reason and she liked the sound of that. She nodded once more before they slipped into their respective stances. Juvia watched as Natsu wore a smirk on his face and she couldn't help but wear one of her own.

"Fire dragon's claw!"

His feet came swiping up to Juvia who was quick enough to duck under his foot. He was quick that's for sure, but so was Juvia. For her dropped stance and how close he was, one attack came to mind where she was sure she would make contact with his body.

"Water cane!"

Just as she thought, she smacked the side of the body as she heard him yell out. He went flying away from her own form, but he skidded on the floor to stop himself from going too far. Before she could even have any time to praise herself mentally, Natsu was running back towards her with his hands on fire.

"Fire dragon's iron fist!"

Juvia smirked as she let his attack run right through her body where the water engulfed the flames and they died. Natsu's jaw dropped in shock and as Juvia was ready to knock him away from her, he smirked.

"Lightning fire dragon's firing hammer!"

It was Juvia's turn for her eyes to widen as the attack smacked her into a tree. She felt rough and annoyed. She knew that lightning from anywhere. It was Laxus', meaning that Natsu had eaten Laxus' fire at some point. She was lucky for her body to be made of water otherwise that attack would actually have left some devastating effects. Natsu must have seen her ability as high end for him to use such an attack against her.

"Fire dragon's brilliant flame!"

Juvia heard the call and looked up to see that Natsu had actually jumped into the air and was ready for the attack to knock her right out. She didn't really have any time to move, so her hands shot out and she quickly called her own spell so that while he was still in the middle of the air, there was no way for him to move.

"Water nebula!"

A helix of water came rushing out at Natsu and hit him in the chest where he was thrown to the floor. It gave Juvia enough time to stand up to plan her next attack. Water lock was too soon into a fight to do, so that was out of it.

"Water cyclone!"

"Fire dragon's roar!"

Natsu knew it wouldn't be as effective as it should be as he hadn't ingested any fire in a while. He was right as it literally did nothing, making him curse. He didn't know that Juvia's water had been strong enough to just lick out his flames to his roar like that.

Juvia frowned. His roar hadn't even put up a fight before she remembered that he hadn't eaten any fire. Well, she needed him at full power for this training session to make any sense. She felt a lighter lying around in her pocket and thrust it towards him.

"Eat the flames."

He didn't even need to be told twice as he wrapped his mouth around the flames. He felt the fire ignite in his body and he smiled.

"Here I come!"

He lit up his hands once more and Juvia did the same, only with water. They jabbed and swiped, kicked and punched each other in the gut, face and back. They were both smiling through the pain that they were giving each other, not having had this much fun in a while, especially ever since the ones they loved announced that they were going out with one another.

They went on for the next 3 hours, getting tired. Juvia was feeling the effects of the fight more than Natsu, but that was to be expected. Natsu was a war machine who literally had no end, while Juvia thought herself to be human. It had gone from light to dark and Juvia was wondering if she actually was human.

"Water lock!"

She was going to make this last move, she had no more energy. She didn't even think she wanted to eat dinner, just wash up and go the hell to sleep.

For a while, juvia watched Natsu struggle. He was so easy to try and suffocate, it was actually hilarious. When she thought of letting him go, she saw his lips move, meaning he had another attack up his sleeve. Juvia prepared herself for this one.

She didn't get to know what it was, but it was lightning based as there was a flash of yellow and she sent herself into the sierra form to try and dodge it. She was still hit, but she took Natsu down with her, panting heavily. She was lying back on her solid form on the floor a little away from Natsu who hadn't been expecting her to withstand his attack to then still be able to attack him.

"Natsu?"

"Hmm?"

"Juvia is tired."

He let out a sigh in relief. Honestly, so was he. He could only fight for so long. He knew that Juvia was strong, but because he had never fought with her, he didn't know how strong. Just like him, she also had a very big bank of spells, calling out ones that were the perfect counter against his own. Most of the fight, he was honestly in awe of her.

"Same here."

They grinned at each other before groaning when they tried to sit up. Natsu had an idea.

"Hey, why don't we go to the lake over there and turn it into an onsen? I need the heat to make me feel a little better."

Juvia liked the sound of that. She didn't know that the forest had so many outlets of water. There was a stream, a river and a lake. The good thing about the lake was that it was one confined area and didn't flow, meaning it would be where they would be drinking from and catching fish from.

Her face then turned red as she realised what that meant. She was going to be alone with Natsu, naked in the same place. She didn't think she could cope with that knowledge. She barely felt comfortable sharing an onsen with other females, but with Natsu?! Someone should just shoot her here and now!

"O-oh, Juvia w-would b-but she's super tired now."

She was stuttering over her words and Natsu turned to look at her confused. From what he had heard, she enjoyed a good onsen, so why was she declining? He then also remembered that she's painfully shy and only enjoyed an onsen if she were alone.

"Oooooh, I geddit, you're shy because I'll be there right?"

Juvia jumped and nodded as he hit the nail on the head. She didn't know that he knew, but she guessed that Lucy and Erza had complained a lot about her shy nature many times for it to be stuck i Natsu's head.

"Okay, so why don't we make a lot of steam to the point where he can only see shadows of each other then? I'll heat up the water and you can make instant steam, right?"

Juvia was going to shake her head and say no when she paused. She had never thought to do that before. At least this way, they could still be together and not separate.

"Okay fine! Let's go and get out stuff then."

She huffed with a blush on her face and Natsu 'yippied' next to her, happy that she saw it his way. She rolled her eyes with a smile, enjoying his fresh young and innocent behaviour. She didn't know why she let Natsu convince her so easily.

They got their towels and their spare change of clothes before heading down to where the lake was. Juvia started to get nervous. She wasn't as beautiful as the other girls of Fairy Tail. She was definitely no Mira, Erza or Evergreen with their perfect toned figures, and she was definitely no Cana or Lucy who used their sex appeal to their advantage as well has having big breasts. She wasn't cute like Levy, she was just Juvia. Plain Juvia.

"Juvia will go over to this side where Natsu won't be able to see Juvia at all. Juvia won't look, Natsu can get in and heat up the water, then Juvia will create the steam before getting in, okay?"

Natsu nodded even though he wasn't sure why Juvia would hide herself. It's not like he was here to judge. Besides, she was actually really pretty. Still, he respected her wishes and did everything she said. He watched as she bent over to touch the water and as soon as her hand came in contact with it, the steam flew up. It was almost like fog, only it was just around the lake. He was amazed.

When he turned his head back to look at Juvia, he found himself blushing. Although he couldn't see her, he could still see her silhouette through the steam. He saw the way she pulled her dress over her head and how she was folding it. He saw her figure, she was curvy in all the right places. Her legs looked deliciously long, only he couldn't see every feature on her body as it just looked like he was looking right at a shadow.

She slipped into the water and Natsu had to make his voice wasn't shaky when he was calling out to her. He couldn't let her know that he could see her silhouette through all the steam and that she was more beautiful than she thought. No, that would make her run out of the water and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

* * *

The week had gone by quicker than Juvia would have thought. If she were to camp with anyone else, she was definitely going to be bored, but because it was with Natsu, he was just spontaneous and so much fun! He made everything fresh and they did things Juvia had never thought of doing.

They walked back to the guild, chatting and laughing. Natsu had taught Juvia how to build up her stamina and strength and in turn, Juvia had been the calm and soothing voice that made Natsu concentrate more on his meditation. He never was good at it, but with Juvia there to push him every step of the way, he was getting better at it.

"Juvia is going to go and say a quick hello to Gajeel-kun, okay? She hasn't seen him in a while."

Natsu nodded his head and watched her walk off to her best friend. At least she still had her best friend. His was only into Gray these days. He sighed and was about to head over to his team. It had been a while since he hung out with them, seeing as he was on a mission with Juvia then spent the last week or so camping with her.

"Hey Natsu!"

Mira called out to him and he made his way over to the bar instead. "What's up?"

"Ah, like a day or two ago, your client Yato came by here. He said that he needs you and Juvia to transport the book over to his distant relatives where they can seal the book away properly. It was kind of urgent, he was fretting when he didn't see you here. He left you this flyer."

Mira handed it to him and he frowned, thinking that they were done with the job. Unless those bounty hunters caught wind of who took the book. The dark guild was definitely going to be after the book. Mira had gone to the other end of the bar to serve the others and Natsu noticed Juvia coming towards him. She must have been wondering what was in his hands.

As he was about to meet her halfway, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He frowned and turned around to see who it might be. His eyes widened as they fell onto the form of the girl he loved. Still loves even. It was hard to let a love go after you had been in love with them for a long time.

"Hey Natsu!" She was bright eyes as usual with a smile on her face as she addressed him. She didn't know of the heartbreak she had caused him. To her, they were just best friends, she didn't know that he was in love with her. In fact, she will never know that he was in love with her.

"H-hey L-Luce." He can't believe he just stuttered. That wasn't like him at all! Luckily, Lucy hadn't noticed that slip up, and instead was peering at the sheet in his hand. It was a job. She looked a little worried.

"Are you going on a mission alone?"

Natsu was still surprised that Lucy was talking to him, was still stuttering when he tried to reply.

"N-no, I'm going with Ju-"

"I mean, I'll be more than happy to come!" She grinned up at him with that grin that he oh so loved and he found himself gawking. Wasn't she going to listen to a word he was saying? Why is she cutting him off for? He tried again. This wasn't like him.

"No I said I'm going with-"

Natsu was just about to rectify things when a certain redhead interrupted him. He felt like groaning, but he bit it back once more.

"What's this? Are you going on a job Natsu? Let us join you and I shall take the lead." She was followed by Happy and Natsu's anger as slowly starting to build up. He was getting frustrated with these constant interruptions and in a minute, he was going to use his fire to interrupt them if they weren't careful.

"If you would let me finish, you would hear that I'm saying I'm already going with-"

"Oi flame brain, you tryna go on a job?! Count me in!" He had ditched his shirt somewhere in the hall, but he didn't care. He joined the others and threw a wink at Lucy who was blushing like crazy. They hadn't exactly made their relationship exclusive yet, but it was going to happen pretty soon, everyone was just waiting any day now.

Natsu rolled his eyes and bit back a growl. They were now talking about a job they didn't even know about without him, when it was all his idea. He glared at their backs. There was no way that he was going to go on a mission with those three, not after he had made good friends with Juvia. She knew the pain that he felt and he would damned if she felt that way again.

He turned around to see where Juvia was and he felt his heart plummet when he saw her eyebrows wrinkle into a frown before the sadness settled in. She turned her back on him and with his enhanced hearing, he heard a soft, sad and disappointed sigh.

Juvia felt like her heart was being ripped right out of her chest yet again, gloomy at the fact that she was being forgotten. First it had been with Gray, the man she loved, now Natsu was going to forget her as well. She had come to enjoy his company and could almost lump his friendship onto the same level as Gajeel's. She could feel the storm clouds outside gathering as she tried to hold her feelings in, so that the rain wouldn't pour.

Something inside of Natsu snapped as soon as he saw her walking away. Maybe it was the way her head was hung low, or maybe it was because he was looking at her back. Either way, he would rather hang out with Juvia than his supposed teammates.

"Come on Natsu, let's go on that job!" Lucy was grabbing his arm to grab his attention which made his frustrated.

"Let's go Natsuuuu," Happy chanted from behind him. Hearing the voice of his best friend threw in a little bit of sadness to his feelings.

"Let's go already flame brain, stop standing there like you're usual stupid self." Hearing Gray's voice added in a bucket load of anger.

"Natsu, why aren't you listening to us, do you want to be punished?" Hearing that HE was the one who wasn't listening made his blood boil in sync with his magic.

"Oh, FUCK _**OFF**_!"

Natsu's voice cut them all off as there was a dark edge hidden within his tone. Everyone in the guild had come to a halt, Juvia included. She turned around with surprise in her eyes while everyone else had shock written all over their expressions. Natsu let the anger wash out from his system as he counted to ten before he spoke.

"Let's get a few things straightened out now shall we? Lucy, Happy, Gray and Erza, I do NOT remember inviting you guys on my job, Lucy only asked and if any of YOU had been listening to ME, you would have understood that there was no way in hell I was taking this job with you guys."

There were a few gasps as Natsu spoke to his team, almost as if he didn't want to be in the team with them. The said people let their faces fall as they were finally listening to every word he was saying.

"Secondly, if you had let me finish, you would have known that I'm not actually going alone, I already have someone I'm going on the job with! This job was given to us specifically because we already helped the guy out before, so don't come barging in on a job that isn't yours! Am I invisible or somethin'?"

Gray took this as an opportunity to try and lighten up the situation. He was being far from malicious when he said, "well with that pink hair of yours, how can you think you're invisible?" He snickered at his own joke before Lucy and Happy joined in with hi giving him a little giggle. Erza could see this wasn't going to end well and took a tiny step forward to stop Natsu from flying at him, only he didn't.

Natsu rolled his eyes, calming down a lot from his rant. "Sorry my hair colour offends you so much, ice princess. Now if you don't mind, Juvia and I have a job to go on."

There it was again, more gasps. Natsu rolled his eyes for the second time, wondering why it was such a surprise that he was going on a job with Juvia. He'd been on jobs with many different people before, so why was this one coming across as such a shock.

Juvia placed a hand on his shoulder with a watery smile. "Natsu didn't have to do that for Juvia, he should go on the job with his team. Besides, Juvia is used to the l-loneliness, this wouldn't have been the first time." She gave him a reassuring smile but he smiled sadly at her.

"Hey, no one should have to be alone, don't get used to that okay? I'm sure as hell not gonna leave you alone, plus Yato asked for the both of us specifically, because we're so awesome!" It was like Natsu was back to his original self again before he was making a stupid pose with Juvia laughing her head off at him. He grinned, happy that he was able to make her laugh while everyone else looked on.

When she sobered up, Natsu then shrugged carelessly. "Besides, they can find a simple job for themselves to go on, seeing as they don't need me anymore, which is actually what they said when they thought I wasn't listening. They forgot I've got dragon's hearing."

Natsu mumbled that last part out to Juvia, but his team still heard, their faces dropping.

"We apologize Natsu, for everything that we've said or done to hurt you. You may hit me if you want."

Natsu turned around and faced Erza with a serious expression on his face, shaking his head almost as if he couldn't believe that she had said such a thing.

"Look, just because you've said some shitty things about me, doesn't mean I'm gonna hit you. You're still my friend you know." Natsu paused before he thought of something. "A fight would be good though. I'll cream you."

Without letting anyone else get a word in, he beckoned for Juvia to follow him as she skipped beside him. "We're gonna go now, see you all later!"

The guild doors shut behind them and it was all silent in the guild until someone said, "what just happened?" No one could even answer that question, because honestly, no one knew.

Only a certain iron dragon slayer who was munching away on some iron knew exactly what was happening. He glared at everyone secretly. _"It's their fault for underestimating him, thinking he's stupid all the time and not remembering his dragon senses. Talking shit behind his back wasn't a good move at all."_

He glanced back at the guild door where Natsu and Juvia had just walked through and a small smirk passed over his lips.

" _Take care of her Salamander. I'm sure you will anyway."_

* * *

So how was that for you? I hope that was good enough to feed your hunger for a new chapter lol. As I said, I'll be in and out of action until maybe Feb as I won't have exams again until May. Just thought I would treat you lovely people to a new chapter!

As you can see, I'm still sticking to the story a little bit as well, I'm not veering off just yet. If you haven't read Sakura's version (the original version) I suggest you do so, to get an understanding of where I'm coming from on this lol. If you don't want to, you don't have to though.

Please don't forget to rate or hate, flames or floods! I love reviews and I also love you!

Lolita-chan


	5. Sadness and betrayal

Hey, Dark Gothic Lolita here!

So I've FINALLY had the time to write out the next chapter to this story and let me tell you, it didn't even take long at all! I wrote this whole chapter out in a day, like i was just flowing with so many ideas from this one chapter! It was so beautiful!

Please read the A/N at the bottom as well, it has a lot of trivia for this chapter as now I'm starting to turn away from Sakura's idea and incorporate my own in! It's quite extensive, so get ready to read a LOOOOONG A/N! If you don't, that's fine but don't ask me why I've done what I've done compared to Sakura's when most likely the question has been answered in the A/N lol.

Disclaimers are boring but I didn't really proof-read this lol.

ENJOY!

* * *

 **Heartbroken**

 **Sadness and betrayal**

The train journey on the way to Yato's house was a very quiet one. Other than Natsu being sick, the two of them had been left alone to their thoughts, making the quiet silence seem very eerie to them. They had both gotten used to each other's company, so the silence was very odd.

When they got off the train and started heading towards Yato's house, Natsu's mind was spinning with a lot of questions for himself, questions that he couldn't even think to answer because he was scared of what he might think of to himself.

Was he upset with his team? Was he going to be able to forgive them, or was this the final straw? A wave of sadness, loneliness and betrayal washed over him, dampening his already dark mood. He hadn't felt this way since Igneel had left him alone. The dragon that had given him promises of never leaving him, of always being there to be his 'father.' But that all changed one day when he had woken up. He was no longer there, Natsu couldn't even smell him. All he left was the scarf made from his scales and a broken hearted boy.

Then he had found Makarov and the crazy guild called Fairy Tail. The tiny old man had shown him love that he hadn't seen in a long time after Igneel had just up and left him. He gave him a new home and a place to walk among humans as he had just been so used to living with a dragon. He had perfected his reading and writing skills under the old man and he had taught him all the manners he needed. He met other kids his own age, Erza, his rival Gray and his best friend, Lisanna who had been his first crush, and he thought that things would run smoothly forever.

But they didn't.

The second time he felt so alone was when Lisanna had 'died.' He wept and sobbed and punched many things for months down the line. She was his best friend, the first girl he had come to love. She was the only one who well and truly cared for him, listened to him, mocked him and smiled softly at him. Although he blushed and told her to shut up, he really did think that she was the girl that he was going to marry when they were older.

But she had slipped right through his fingers at the time. She was gone and there was no way of getting her back. She was dead, her siblings thrown into sorrow, but Natsu had lost another important person in his life _again_ and he didn't know how much grief he could take. He had run into the forest that night without Happy and had fallen asleep in the makeshift house that the two of them made, his face wet with tears.

Two years later, Natsu had met Lucy and he had fallen for her almost in an instant. She reminded him of Lisanna, but then he found that she was way more than that. She brought light into his life. He loved her, but he was just way too shy to show it or even tell anyone about it, so he did stupid stuff like barging into her house unannounced to show that she was on his mind every minute of every day, even going as far as to sneak into her bed.

It didn't really work out because she hated that sort of stuff and then to top it all off, Erza and Gray started showing up at her house as well! Lucy never saw him in that way, the way that he saw her and somehow, here she was, with Gray.

That led to the third time of him feeling betrayed. Lucy was _his_ partner, _his_ teammate, they were part of the original trio before Erza and Gray joined, but yet, here was, giving Gray all the attention, and even dating him. He just didn't understand why that couldn't be him she was with. What did the stripper have that he didn't? Was it the fact that he didn't strip? He wanted to scream at the ice mage and tell him that Lucy was his, but he soon came to realise that she wasn't. It wasn't anybody else's fault but his own that he fell in love with Lucy. He did it without thinking, because hey, he was in love, but at the end of the day, he couldn't blame Gray for all his suffering.

So he hid behind his mask once more. The mask that he wore when he found out that his best friend had just died. Happy, his best friend who was always by his side had never even noticed the mask that he wore, the silly goofy _fake_ smile that he had plastered on his face despite the pain that went on through his heart. He didn't know why people just assumed he was always fine.

That was until he came in contact with Juvia. She had seen straight through that stupid mask of his and she had been the only person to do so so far. She was in the same boat as him when it came to love, only he was sure she had it worse. EVERYONE including Gray himself had known of her love for the ice mage, but he had never acknowledged her, or told her at the very least that he was in love with someone else so that she could move on. He just let it ride on, which in Natsu's eyes, he thought that was disgusting.

He had gotten closer to Juvia on that mutual ground of the fact that the people that they loved didn't love them back. She had always gone through rejection and Natsu thought that it was up to him to make sure that she never went through that again. He was used to his team making fun of him, but when they wouldn't let him get a word out to say that he was already going on the job with Juvia, he had seen the pain in her eyes when she thought she was going to be rejected again.

His team had crossed the line then.

It was okay to make him feel like trash, but Juvia was the last person on Earthland who deserved that sort of treatment. All their words were cutting him deep, but he realised he hadn't actually cared about that. The only person he had cared about was Juvia and he had to make them all see that they were indirectly hurting her with all their harsh words to him.

Next to Natsu and his turmoil, Juvia was going through a similar self pitying thought pattern. She was thinking about how miserable her life had been up until now. It wasn't Gray's fault that she decided to fall in love with him, but sometimes she thought about how different life would have been if she joined Fairy Tail before Lucy had. Would he have still chosen Lucy? Or would he have fallen in love with her instead?

She had been a loner since childhood, the rain being her only form of comfort, so when Gray came into her life and showed her the sun, despite being enemies, she still fell for him hard. She should have known to stay far away from love after what happened with Bora. When will she ever learn?

But now though, she felt that although Gray ended up with Lucy, she still had a good friend beside her. Natsu had fallen into her life and she had seen a side of Natsu that she had never seen before. She didn't even think that anyone else had seen that side of Natsu because he was always wearing that stupid mask of his. Even though he was a bit broken from love, he still had the heart to carry on and even put her own feelings in front of his. Honestly, she wasn't surprised that everyone couldn't see how much he was hurting because he played it off so damn well.

She looked up at Natsu and saw the concentration on his face, almost as if he were thinking about something similar to her. Maybe he was remembering the events that had happened not too long ago with his team. To think that he exploded at them, in order to make sure that she was seen and heard. It was so sweet of him.

The weather was really reflecting their mood and Juvia felt a chill run up her spine from the wind. Unconsciously, she found herself moving closer to Natsu, feeling the warmth from his magic, though his aura remained somber. She hated that. He needed to feel alive, not dark and dreary like the grey sky that loomed above them.

"Hey Natsu? You okay?"

"Huh? Oh yeah...I'm fine." He gave her a big grin before it died when he saws the glare on her face. At this point, she had stopped walking, crossed her arms and was looking at him. He gulped, wondering what it was that had pissed her off.

Eventually she sighed. "Honestly, Natsu can tell Juvia what's wrong, Natsu doesn't have to hide it, especially not from Juvia."

Natsu sighed too and shrugged. "Just loads of thoughts, y'know? Just thinking about what happened back at the guild, about the past...it's all a bit nuts in here right now, you don't gotta worry, okay?"

He grinned at her simply and Juvia nodded her head before smiling at him. "What you did back there, Juvia can't thank Natsu enough. If Natsu ever needs to talk, Juvia's here. Remember that Natsu can't fake anything with Juvia, she can see right through it, okay?"

She nudged him with her elbow softly into his gut and he laughed, feeling his confusion leaving his mind. Yeah, things were gonna be okay, as long as he had his new best friend by his side. He just hoped and prayed that she wouldn't be like the rest and leave him.

"I wonder if Yato will have that dinner there for us again. I mean, it's nothing like yours, but still. Food is food."

Juvia giggled behind her hand and the rest of their bad spirits were uplifted. The tension was gone and they were actually both laughing whole heartedly worries had fizzled away and they were nothing but cheery smiles.

"Mira did say that he was urgent, maybe we'll get there and have to do the job straight away."

Natsu pouted and Juvia couldn't help but coo at cute he was being, which in turn made him blush. "I'm not cute! I'm handsome!"

Juvia waved her hand dismissively, laughing her head off at this point. What did she have to worry about, even though Natsu never opened up, he was always cheery. The sad talk could wait til later.

"Yeah, if Natsu says so."

Natsu pulled her back where she screamed a cute little 'kyaa!" and she fell into his chest. She looked up at him with a splash of red on her cheeks. He was looking down at her intently, but he then smirked at her.

"Take a good look at me Juvia. How can you tell me that I'm not handsome?"

Juvia was going to faint. When did Natsu become so, so _suave_? He was so hot right now and Juvia couldn't even believe how close she was to him right now. She felt like evaporating on the spot, because being so close to him made her realise that yes, Natsu is actually a very attractive guy. From his pink hair that didn't make him look any less masculine than he already was with sharp 'slanty' eyes that looked like a reptile's.

"Um...uh, okay, so maybe Natsu _does_ look a _little_ handsome."

Natsu laughed and let her go as she huffed at him. "No such thing as a little bit handsome Juve, I'm either handsome or I'm not, and I think you just told me that I am."

She hid her face in her hands when she realised what she had just admitted and she felt some weight fall around her shoulder. Se knew that Natsu had draped himself over her shoulders and she didn't want to look at him, just in case she combusted.

"Aww, c'mon Juvia, I'm just kidding! Didn't know how easy it was to tease you."

She moved her hands and pouted at him. "Just you watch Natsu, Juvia will get her own back soon enough!"

Natsu laughed and shook his head. "I'm sure you will, for now though, we're here."

She looked up and noticed that they were indeed in front of Yato's yard. It seemed as if he had seen them on the surveillance cameras, because soon enough, he came running out with two of his butlers at hand. The two mages were surprised at his urgency and they stood up straight, noting that it was time for business.

"I'm so glad that you two could come on such short notice! I need you to transport this book to my distant relative's house. Of course I'm coming with you, but I've heard hushed whispers over town that the guild that wanted this book will be coming shortly for me and that book. Please, protect me as we travel!"

Natsu looked queasy, realising that they would have to get a horse and carriage, but Juvia nodded on his behalf. "Yes, we shall do just that. Did you want us to go now? You already look ready..."

"Ah yes, please! My men are bringing the carriage round."

Juvia looked up at Natsu and smiled. "Hey, Juvia's going to be there okay, don't sweat about the transport thing."

"What if we get attacked and I'm hacking out my insides? I don't recover straight away when I get off of transport y'know!"

Juvia scowled, thinking that he made a good point, before making a face that looked like a light bulb had gone off in her head. "Juvia has a little spell that can sort out the equilibrium in Natsu's ears for the next 24 hours. Wow, all that time that Juvia could have helped Gajeel-kun use it and she just forgot...don't tell him Juvia knew this spell all along, he'll kill her."

"Yes ma'am!"

He felt her cool hands place themselves on either ear and she started chanting. He panicked a little when he felt water make their way into his ears, but he guessed that that was part of the spell. Eventually the water stopped flowing in and Juvia let go with a smile.

"You dragon slayers are very low on the liquid that makes you guys keep your balance when on transport, and Juvia can't seem to think why. For the next 24 hours, Juvia has used her own magic to supply Natsu with it so that her won't throw up."

Natsu hugged her just before their carriage showed up. "You're the best Juves!"

"Juvia knows!" She said laughing as she hopped into the carriage after the butlers and Yato had gotten in. Natsu rolled his eyes with a smile when she said that, but he wouldn't have it any other way. She was finally coming out of her shell and accepting credit when she was given it.

* * *

The rest of Team Natsu had been very quiet, wondering where they had gone wrong with their friend. How could they say those things about him? How could they not let him get a word in? How did they make him blow up at them?

Happy sat there quietly, ears against his head if he were a dog. Carla sat next to him, almost as if to pity him, but even her presence couldn't make him feel any better. He is supposed to be Natsu's ultimate best friend, but instead, he left him for Lucy and Gray, two people that he really had nothing to do with. Now Natsu was out there, having fun with Juvia instead.

The rest of the guild had gotten over their initial shock before going about their day. Natsu's anger had shaken everyone through to their very core, but they had gotten over it, seeing as it wasn't really directed at them. However, Team Natsu could still feel the stares of others when they walked past them, as if they wanted to ask 'what did you do?"

"Hey guys, I have an idea! I know that they were requested specifically to do the job, but what if we go and find them and help them out? As a way to apologize! That could work, right?"

Lucy was looking at the other three hopefully, as if they would back her idea on it. Erza looked a little skeptical, but Gray and Happy seemed to be onboard with it.

"Sounds like a plan to me, Erza?"

They turned to her and she went red when she realised that the attention was all on her. She nodded her head before sticking a spoonful of cake into her mouth, chewing and swallowing it. "I guess we can. But we go, after I've finished my cake! I guess we'll need Wendy to help sniff them out for us."

The other three cheered, thinking about how happy Natsu and Juvia will be when they show up and surprise them by helping them out on the job. Lucy jumped up from the table and went to find Wendy to see if she would help. Mira overhead the conversation and wanted to do nothing more than to stop them, but it wasn't her place. She approached the master.

"Master, they're going after them to see if they can help. Do you think I should stop them, I feel like that's the last thing those two would want." Mira did really feel sorry for the pair of them. She had been a hardcore fan of Nalu and Gruvia, so the fact that it fell apart really messily just broke her heart. Natsu and Juvia were two people who didn't deserve to be let down like that.

Makarov shook his head, taking a swig of his beer. "Nah, I'm sure they'll be fine. Who knows, maybe they'll get there in time to stop Natsu from destroying whatever he's going to destroy which will then cost me money!"

Levy who was walking past frowned a little before heading over to Gajeel. She saw his face and knew that what he had been saying this whole time was true. " _They really don't care about Natsu's feelings in the slightest, do they? They really think that he's some bubbly fool, but they couldn't see the mask he was hiding behind. Gajeel really was right."_

~x~

"So Yato, why do you need us to transport the book? Who exactly is after you?"

The man looked troubled, almost as if he didn't want to say anything, but he sighed and gave in.

"Zeref worshippers are after it. It's said that the dark guild, Tartarus have been looking for this book for the past few years and have no tracked it down to me. They used a bounty hunter guild for them to do all their dirty work, because as far as I'm concerned, they have never been seen before. It's said that the members of Tartarus are actually demons from Zeref's books themselves. You know, like Deliora, and Lullaby. I heard they were both exterminated by your guild."

Natsu nodded with his arms crossed and a serious expression on his face. "Yeah, my...team took them both down, although Deliora was done by Ur, an ice mage. When Deliora was released from the ice coffin, it was too late, he had died inside, I just punched him to pieces."

Juvia looked over at her partner, wondering if this was something that happened when she was yet to join the guild. She hadn't heard about this story, and to know that Natsu punched a demon into oblivion, it made her stare at him awe at how strong he really was.

"Wow...I can't believe you were able to do that! As I told you before, this book is what will release E.N.D. which is Zeref's most prized demon. The incantation in there can only be read from my family as we're descendants of Zeref's family. Not Zeref himself, but apparently his father had an older brother. Being the only family to probably survive his wrath of 400 years ago, when a god placed a curse on him, we were the only who were able to read the old language of Mildian. The book is written in nothing but Mildian, which is what Tartarus need to revive E.N.D. All they need is a family member of mine to read out the spell and we're done for."

"But why transport it though? What does your relative have that you don't have out here?"

Yato sighed and shook his head, almost as if he were refusing to say, but he opened his mouth anyway.

"Now I know what you're going to say. Yes, he turned out to be villain, yes he's dead, but his spirit still lives on in his house and it shall keep the book safe for a while."

Natsu and Juvia looked at each other, wondering what the hell he was on about. No one came to mind as they were trying to think of who it could be.

"Hades is a distant cousin of mine."

The two of them jumped as Natsu growled. "That _bastard_?! How in the hell can you be related to that low life?!"

"Through blood maybe? Look, I know what is, actually, _was,_ but the guy is dead now, and I'm pretty sure he's learned his mistake with thinking he can 'revive' Zeref, when he should have known that Zeref was never dead. Now look at him, he's the one who ended up dead. But yes, we have to take the book to his house because it has some sort of cloaking spell around it. Even in his death it's still intact."

Natsu sat back and grumbled as Juvia patted his arm to try and calm him down. Yato knew that there was some deep animosity hidden there, but he didn't question it, before he got Natsu even more mad by remembering in detail what the dead man could have done.

"All I want to do is secure it in his house and forget about it. I know he was a terrible person, hence why I never had anything to do with him, but I can't not admit that he was a very powerful mage. His spirit still has the power to protect. Besides, I'm not a mage, so me protecting this book was a dumb idea in the first place, but I guess I had it because he turned into a Zeref worshipper, which wouldn't have been great for us."

Natsu finally calmed down and nodded his head as Juvia leaned her head on his shoulder. He smiled down at her and she grinned up at him. Yato silently watched with a smile on his face as they all went along.

~x~

"Their scent is fading away really quickly. It's not that I can't smell them, it just seems like they're travelling faster than being on foot. Did you guys get a good look of where they were going to be going?"

The rest of Team Natsu plus Wendy and Carla were currently standing outside of Yato's home. Lucy tapped her chin and shook her head. "Nope, this is the address that I saw on there. I didn't really get to read what they were doing, I think it was something about a book. Again, because they've already helped this client out before, he was really limited in what he wrote, obviously meaning to tell them in person."

Wendy nodded her head and Carla was unimpressed at this wild goose chase. "I'm guessing you still want Wendy hear to try and find them?"

Lucy clasped her hands together, almost as if she were begging. "Please, that would be really appreciated. We just can't wait to apologize to Natsu!"

Wendy smiled and nodded her head as she led the way. "I don't know where we can find a carriage to try and follow them...Or Erza can find one for us..."

Gray, Lucy and happy turned around to see that Erza was actually leading a horse and carriage in their direction. Her face was dead set as she stopped next to them while stroking the horse. Raising an eyebrow at them, she beckoned for them to get into the carriage.

"What are we all waiting for, golden week? Get in already."

The rest of them raised no further questions as Wendy quickly casted the spell on herself so that she wouldn't motion sickness. She was wondered how Natsu was fairing. If he was moving this quickly, there was no way he was on foot and that meant he was sick. She doubted that, there was no way he would leave a transport mission alone to Juvia. After all, it was a known fact that once getting off the transport, it still took dragon slayers some time before they were back to normal.

"I'll keep the hatch open so that you can stay sat in here, but give me the direction, okay?"

Wendy nodded at Erza as she got up on the platform and started taking charge of the horses as Wendy was giving directions. Everyone else was silent as they just started thinking about the events that took place in the guild earlier that day.

Lucy was thinking about the missing dragon slayer's presence as they were technically on a mission. She hated to admit it, but she missed the stupid bickering of Natsu when they were on a mission. His dumb comments proved to be hilarious, and it was weird riding in a carriage without hearing the sounds of his groaning and complaining. Maybe the smell of puke, she didn't miss. She hadn't even heard Juvia threaten her to stay away from her 'Gray-sama' in a while and she knew that it was because now she was dating Gray, the water mage probably realised that Gray wasn't hers.

Gray sat next to Lucy, arms crossed and eyes closed. He had managed to keep all his clothes on as he thought about Natsu and Juvia. Although they fought and they were rivals, Gray was actually attached to Natsu like a brother. Even Juvia hadn't bothered him in ages and it felt weird not having his own personal cheerleader, because Lucy wasn't about to start doing that. Yeah sure, he didn't like her the same way she liked him, but they were still nakama and he hadn't meant to hurt her.

Erza felt anger rising through her veins. She wanted to do nothing more than punch Natsu's brains back in, but she knew it was her fault that Natsu left on the job with Juvia in the first place. Even though it was the whole team's fault, she still somehow managed to blame herself the most. She didn't know what had gotten into her head, but she wanted to make things right again.

Happy was who everyone was worried about. The exceed hadn't spoken in a few hours now as he just sat there. Natsu was his friend, his father, his comrade, his nakama, and he just left him off at the side. He hadn't even noticed when the dragon slayer was feeling down, and instead of staying with him, he left him for Lucy's comfortable apartment, over the place that he had lived in all his life. Happy knew he deserved the fact that Natsu had finally moved on and gained a new partner/best friend. He didn't deserve to fill that role anymore, but he was surprised that it was Juvia who had stepped up to the plate.

All in all, they were highly disappointed in themselves.

* * *

It was late evening when the Yato party finally made it to Hades' house. They all jumped out of the carriage and Natsu stretched with Juvia next to him doing the same thing. They were mages, being cooped up wasn't a thing that they like to do with their time.

"Okay, I'll just head in with my butler and make sure that the book gets sealed in the safe before we start heading back, okay? Which one of you is coming in?"

"Juvia wants to wait with the horses, it's been awhile since she last petted and fed one!" The excitement on her face was childlike and Natsu laughed at her expression. Yato laughed as well while he handed her a bag of carrots, which she was grateful for. One of the butlers stayed behind with her as he decided to take a rest from all that riding.

Juvia was feeding one of the horses as well as leading them to the water when she felt a ghastly rush of wind blow. It made her high on alert, especially because the horses started whining. She knew that animals had a sixth sense for these things and made sure to watch her surroundings. It was okay, she was near a supply of water which meant whoever was there wouldn't be so lucky.

" _It can't be a member of Tartaros...could it? They must have been following from the get go."_

The second horse whined again before running off and Juvia stood up from her crouched position unafraid. She was a mage of Fairy Tail, former S class mage of Phantom Lord, the rain woman. Her straight deadpanned expression took up her expression as she stood there, waiting around. The first horse was thrashing about from its reigns which made the butler in the carriage wake up and come and see what was happening. He was about to open his mouth when he saw Juvia standing at attention. He grew still with fear.

She put her fingers to his lips and he nodded, his eyes wide and sweat falling on his brow.

"Water slicer, water nebula!"

She ducked under an incoming attack, but her opponent wasn't so lucky as she heard a curse and someone fall from the tree.

"Stupid bitch, you actually hit me!"

Juvia growled as she used the water from the lake instead of her body. She didn't know what this demon would be capable of if she used own body. "Water cane!"

He managed to dodge it this time as he grinned, his teeth were razor sharp. "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me ~. Think it's my turn to attack, don't you think?"

Juvia stood weary of what his attack would be as he smirked at her dangerously. He had long ears on top of his head and he was spotty around his eyes. He had dirty blonde hair that fell over one of his eyes, and the other eye showed that his irises were coloured yellow.. Juvia couldn't tell if he was using take over soul like the Strauss siblings, or whether he really did look like that. That meant she was yet to see his magic and what he's really capable of doing.

"Exploding spiral!"

Juvia watched his movement as he threw one arm behind him with an open hand and an arc appearing. Juvia raised a brow. " _Is it some sort of arrow magic?"_ He brought the arc back towards him and closed it with a fist and Juvia felt a gust of wind as she tried to hold herself down. " _Air magic like Aria?!"_

As soon as she thought that, the area around her blew up and she was thrown backwards. She yelped but managed to use the water from the lake to shield her. " _Just what kind of magic does this demon have? Juvia doesn't get it!"_

"I'm surprised you're still standing there, intact. You must be pretty strong, for a human ~"

Juvia scowled. "Just what are you and what kind of magic do you posses?"

The man laughed. If anything, he looked like he could have been around her age, maybe if he were human. His laugh irked her and she wanted to punch him straight in the face, but first she needed to get as much information as she could out of him on his own magic. She couldn't go attacking someone who could make things explode using just the wind.

"Name's Jackal, most destructive member of Tartaros. I'm also one of Zeref's nine demons."

"What kind of magic was that just now then?"

He gave her an irritated look, almost as if he were pissed off with her which shocked her a little bit. Shouldn't she be the one wearing that expression on her face?!

"Magic is what you weak humans posses. I have a curse which is way stronger. My curse is bombs. I can make anything explode and just a little heads up, you may not want to touch me."

Juvia didn't get the difference between a curse and magic, but she knew that she was going to have to be careful. Where in the hell was Natsu and Yato?!

"Think fast."

Juvia's eyes widened when she saw her feet light up around her and Jackal smirked. "Landmine curse."

The ground around her blew up.

Natsu's head snapped up very quickly as Yato was punching in the key to the vault that Hades had once told him. They were in the basement where it was hard to hear anything going on outside, but Natsu felt like he could hear explosions going on. He shook Yato.

"I think Juvia is in trouble. I can hear explosions going on outside."

Yato and the butler looked at one another before staring at Natsu as if he were mad. He rolled his eyes at the pair of them and pointed to his ears.

"Dragon slayer."

"Oh...OOOOOH, we must hurry then, I fear that maybe one of the guild members are here already!" The man started fretting as he locked up the book and the three of them all ran out. A window smashed near them and in came a small canister. Natsu's eyes widened as he quickly turned to the other two. Purple smoke flowing out of it.

"GUYS, WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T BREATHE IT IN!"

It was two late for the other two as they were closer to it than Natsu was. He growled and decided to leave them there. Seeing as the house was protected, that probably meant that they wouldn't be able to get into the house, hence why Yato wanted to hide the book here. He needed to go and find Juvia.

As soon as he burst out of the house, he felt his fire building up inside him. There was rage in his heart as his teeth were gritted so hard, you could hear them grinding across each other. He was beyond mad right now. Natsu was furious at the scene in front of him.

"Your girlfriend put up a good fight y'know? Pity she's still a human at the end of the day. Thought she was strong, maybe I could have kept her for myself, but she turned out to be weak."

Jackal laughed cruelly as he had Juvia grabbed by the hair and held her up as if selling her off like meat in the market.

"You...get. You. Hands. Off. Of. Her."

Jackal smirked. "Gladly."

He didn't even just drop her body. He grabbed the back of her head and slammed her face first into the ground. Natsu's eyes widened as he came forward for an attack. He felt the air near him get hotter and he was confused before his eyes widened and he dodged whatever attack was coming his way. The air exploded and he carried on running, not having any time to process what the hell that just was.

Jackal's eyes widened in surprise before his body went flying. He flew across the air where he hit a tree. He groaned and when he looked up, he saw Natsu holding Juvia close to his chest. He growled in anger, wondering why the hell Natsu was able to dodge the attack.

" _That son of a bitch is gonna get it."_

Natsu's main priority was to get Juvia to the carriage safely where he would leave her and fight this jackass himself. As he turned to go and get Juvia to safety, he felt himself go weak. He gritted his teeth as he fell to one knee and he coughed.

" _Shit, looks like I did breathe in some of that purple stuff in the end."_

Natsu knew he was going down, and he hadn't even hurt his opponent well enough to keep him down too. There was also another enemy out there somewhere because canisters don't just come flying out of nowhere. He looked down at Juvia who was cut and bruised all over her body and he smiled softly before holding her tightly against his chest.

"I'm sorry Juvia."

He collapsed next to her as the second butler from the carriage dragged out Yato's body. The man was quivering in fear as there were tears in his eyes. He hoped his fellow butler who was still in the building would be okay.

"You look pathetic, Jackal."

The male demon grunted from his place at the bottom of the tree before slowly standing up and stretching out his body. "Stupid guy somehow dodged my attacking without even being able to see it."

He walked next to his female companion as they dragged both the Fairy Tail mages to the carriage by their collars. The butler had to follow behind with Yato being dragged across the floor as well.

"You idiot, Natsu is a fire dragon slayer. He clearly felt the heat around him getting hotter. What's wrong with you? Don't you know _why_ we're getting him?"

Jackal gave her a blank look and she sighed. Jackal had clearly not been listening when Mard Geer, their guild master had been talking.

"This is Natsu Dragneel. In our terms, this here is E.N.D. only, we need to awaken him, hence why we need that guy," she was pointing at Yato, "to read out the incantations from the book of E.N.D. Only then can we truly awaken E.N.D, our Lord's greatest creation."

Jackal smirked. "Sounds amazing, Seilah."

She smiled as well, throwing all three of the people into the carriage as she put magic ban around their wrists in case they were to wake up halfway through the journey. "It is Jackal."

She looked at the butler and smirked. She loved being able to order people and they had no choice but to obey. "Please take us to our guild please. I'll give you directions. Jackal, bomb the ground around here to remove their scents for a while. Fairy Tail mages will be trying to make their way here as we speak."

"With fucking pleasure!"

He waved his hand and the ground around exploded as he jumped into the carriage and off they went.

* * *

Wendy's head snapped up. Carla noticed the movement and nudged her dragon slayer friend feeling concerned. She knew that whatever was about to come out of Wendy's mouth, it was going to be bad news.

"I've lost their scent."

Gray, Lucy and Happy started chattering, asking whether or not she was sure, if she could still sniff hard enough and Erza heard the commotion in the back.

"What is going on back there, why are we arguing like babies?"

Wendy shook her head as Erza had now stopped the horse from moving. "I've lost their scents Erza. It's just...gone."

Erza nodded her head. "Lost their scents you say?"

"Yes and in all honesty, i-it should faded a l-long time ago." Wendy was trying to justify herself to the older, more powerful woman. She didn't like the sound of disappointment that she could hear laced in her tone of voice. Erza turned back around in her seat.

"Then we shall return to the guild at once. We must tell Master of this."

The others nodded and Wendy could see the disappointment in their eyes as they did their best to not even look at the younger girl. Carla held Wendy's hand to show her that it was not her fault at all. Wendy squeezed on it before the tears started rolling down her face. She had just caught what Erza said under her breath.

" _Should have brought Gajeel, there's no way he would have lost their scent. As soon as I get back, we'll get him instead."_

Wendy's tears fell faster and faster, and though they were silent, Carla saw her shaking. " _I can't do anything right. I have no right to say that I want to protect my friends when I'm not even able to help find them! I'm so weak, I'm so useless, I can't take this!"_

"Erza, stop the horse."

Carla's tone was deadly as it made Erza stop and everyone looked at the exceed in surprise. "You've clearly said something to make Wendy upset, so let's hear it. You seem to have forgotten that Wendy has dragon slayer hearing."

Carla was cold. She had seen Natsu belittled by his team time and time again, and it made her sick. She didn't really care as much for it because Natsu was the sort to bounced back from any insult. She was pretty sure that half the time, he didn't get half of the insults anyway. But now it was becoming too much.

"Erza-san is right though, G-Gajeel-kun would d-do a way better job th-than me. He's ways stronger."

Carla's eyes widened, as did Lucy and Gray's. Happy looked shocked, almost disgusted that Erza would say such a thing. Erza jumped when she realised that Wendy had heard that and she had the decency to look ashamed.

"You said _what_?! No wonder why she's crying, not only did you scare her, you said that she was useless, what kind of nakama are you, don't you understand the weight of your words? Especially when it comes from you! Everyone looks up to you here!"

Erza started stuttering, shocked at the white exceed. "B-but I didn't want to-"

"THIS IS WHY NATSU SWITCHED AT ALL OF YOU, YOU PISSED HIM OFF!"

Carla slammed her paw against her mouth when she realised what she had just said and her eyes widened as she shook. Erza's head was bent forward, her bangs covering her facial expression, but everyone could see that she was shaking and the tension between the whole group started creeping in. Wendy wiped her tears quickly and tried to excuse the behaviour of her exceed.

"I-I'm sure she didn't mean that Erza-san, please, she's extremely sorry."

"No no. She's quite right Wendy." There was a small crack in her voice that did not go unnoticed to the group. "I shouldn't have said that at all, I was completely out of line and I apologize for that. You may hit me if you want."

"That wouldn't be necessary, Erza-san."

Gray sighed. "Come on, let's get going and tell gramps. I wonder why their scent disappeared so suddenly."

Wendy shrugged as Erza finally started turning the horses around. "Maybe they went into a place that is magically protected. It can happen like that, but because of the amount of hours that we are behind them, the scent should have been gone by now. I guess we can apologize to them when they come back.

The rest of the group nodded, except from Happy who felt a very, _very_ violent chill run up his spine. It was as if he could feel something bad happening with Natsu, but he wasn't even there to be of any help. Maybe he was just overthinking it. " _Natsu...I'm so sorry."_

* * *

So how was that chapter for ya? Any good? I hope so, I worked my butt off all day instead of doing the lab report that I'm supposed to be working on lol.

So let's talk about this chapter and all the new things I've added shall we? First of all, I have no idea when Sakura (the original writer of this story before I adopted it from her) actually based the timeline of this story, so I made it up myself. I'm going to say after the GMG. So instead of the whole ordeal with Face and Tartaros activating it to end all magic, I'm making them meet Tartaros in this way instead. So Tartaros know that Natsu is E.N.D. Sakura made her own villain in her version, but because I don't know her plans with that villain, I found it pointless in using them, so I made a used an enemy that we already know of and I think it fits in with why they want the book of E.N.D.

Again, in Sakura's story, Yato, Natsu and Juvia get taken out by purple (I think?) smoke. I thought that was a pretty weak way to end it and for them to be captured. Yes, I made sure that Natsu was still affected by it somehow, because they needed to be captured in one way. I wasn't going to make Natsu go down without a fight, so I made him get at least one hit on Jackal. I also didn't want Juvia going down weakly either.

Before you all start screaming, the 2nd butler that drags Yato ISN'T a traitor. He is being controlled by Seilah's macro curse, which gives her the power to order people about essentially.

Yes, I've also made Hades Yato's distant cousin. Because of how I set up the story where Natsu and Juvia have already stolen the book back and Yato isn't a mage, I needed for him to have an extremely strong relative where they would go and seal the book up and then get captured from there. I really try to limit the amount of OC's I have in a story (Yato is Sakura's OC, not mine so I can let that all slide) and try to look for as many different characters as I can to use. Hades was the perfect candidate.

Not sure if there was anything else i changed in there...Well I changed quite a lot lol. For those who HAVE read Sakura's version (you don't _really_ need to, but when people ask me a question of 'why did you put that in there' it's because it was in Sakura's version and I've tried to keep a lot of elements of hers in there) you will notice that I have started deviating from her path and started my own up. Things are going to be different from here on out. Certain scenes will be similar, but from now on, they're my ideas, nothing f Sakura's. Dialogue will be different, what happens with their memory loss shall be different. Truuuuust me, you guys will love it!

Please don't forget to rate or hate, flames or floods! Reviews make me smile and i hope I made you smile with this new chapter!

Lolita-chan


	6. Searching

Hey, Dark Gothic Lolita here!

So the only reason why I took so long in bringing out this chapter was simply because this is now all my own idea. On the previous chapters, I incorporated my idea with the ones of Sakura's that were already there, so it was super easy to just rewrite the whole thing to my taste. Now, I've completely derailed from whatever it was that Sakura had previously written, and it's now all my own ideas shining through.

Again, you don't have to read Sakura's story to then read mine, but there were a few questions that people would question me on and why I wrote it when actually, it could have been Sakura's idea that I just kept in my version. Someone asked me why I made Yato related to Hades and all I'm saying is, why not? There are so many old characters in Fairy Tail that anyone can be related to anyone. I also said distant cousins, not that they're first cousins, so no, they're not similar in age.

But yeah, let's get this show on the road, I know you've all been DYING for it!

Disclaimers are boring.

ENJOY!

* * *

 **Heartbroken**

 **Searching**

After completely losing Natsu and Juvia's scent, Wendy had decided to call Gajeel anyway to try and aid them in their search. After almost an hour of waiting, the iron dragon slayer rolled up with Lily by his side and an unimpressed facial expression. His arms were crossed over as he looked stern and hard. The others didn't really know what to say.

"First of all, let's trace them to the last place you think you could smell them. How far out do you think they were?" Gajeel didn't even bother addressing the other members of Team Natsu as he only looked at Wendy for his answers.

The girl nodded, happy that Gajeel was here. He was practically her big brother, and while he seemed to intimidate most, she loved the feeling of security that he gave to her. He was protective and very elder brotherly like, that's probably why he wasn't impressed that Juvia, a younger sister of his had gone missing.

"I think they were around five miles out north east when I finally lost them. I'm sorry for disappointing you."

She bowed her head and willed herself not to cry. Carla tugged at her hand as if to give her comfort, while Erza hung her head in shame, still remembering the events that had happened earlier on that day. Gajeel just patted her head gently, making her look up at him.

"Hey, I can't even smell them at all anymore. Whoever is using this magic to mask them is doing it really well. Don't worry, we'll get them back. I guess it was a good thing you selfish bastards went after them then."

Gray frowned. "How are we selfish bastards?! All we wanted to do was help out!"

"Yeah, on a mission that had nothing to do with you. You might see it as doing them a favour, but it was for your own personal gain. Anyway, let's head north east and see if we might get any clues from around there, I'm not gonna stand here and argue."

With that, he turned his back on them and lily didn't miss a beat as Gajeel started walking away. Wendy glanced at Carla who did the same back to her and they started following the older dragon slayer. The other three had never been so ashamed of themselves. Lucy slipped her hand into gray's and he squeezed it tight as they followed on wards. They couldn't use the carriage because that would mean Gajeel would be throwing up and trojia no longer worked on him.

They all carried on in silence, only Gajeel and Wendy talking to each other about the direction they needed to head in. They finally got to a house where it looked like there had been a war. There were scorch marks everywhere and it was all burnt. Some places were even still soaking wet and all their eyes widened. Erza stepped forwards.

"It seems like they were well and truly attacked. Surely they must have won and continued on, right?"

There was just no way that any of them would accept that Juvia and Natsu lost to another bunch of mages and would have then been kidnapped, that was just an absurd thought. Gajeel took a deep breath in and looked over at Wendy who was giving him a puzzled look.

"Do you know whose scent this is?"

Wendy shook her head. "No, I'm not really aware of it. Do you know whose it is?"

Gajeel nodded his head very gravely as he went on walking towards the house. Lily followed him as they took cautious steps before the others behind ran to catch up with him.

"This smells like that old man...You know, the guild master to Grimoire Heart."

Lucy gasped. "Hades?!"

"That's the one. I wonder what they were doing out here in the first place. Pretty sure that old timer's dead anyway, so it couldn't have been him. His magic lives on though, maybe it has something to do with that..."

"Gajeel, I hear a person moving inside!"

Erza made a stern look as she ran in front of everyone else to pull the guy out. Everyone waited by the door before they saw Erza wearing a panicked expression, as she held up a guy who seemed to be sobbing and leaning on her for support.

"Thank you for finding me, I thought I was going to die!"

"Sir, can you tell us what happened?"

"Yeah, did you see a guy named Natsu and a girl called Juvia? D'you know where they might be?"

The man rubbed his head and stopped his tears as he asked to be gently put down. Wendy's healing instincts kicked in as she started healing the man of any injuries. Gajeel grumbled that he was going to go into the house and look for a few clues and Lily went to join him. Happy was impatient, waiting for the man to talk so that he could tell them where his companion went.

"We were attacked. My master hired Juvia and Natsu to transport the book of E.N.D. to this house-"

"Why this house though?"

Everyone's eyes swiveled to Gray as he asked the question, throwing them out of the story. They all glared and he waved his hands in front of him in surrender. "Hey, it was Gajeel who said that it smells like Hades! I just wanted to know what was so special about this house!"

The butler nodded. "Yes, my master, Yato, is indeed related to Hades. They are distant cousins, but blood all the same. Not sure if you've noticed, but Hades' magic does continue to live on, and as my master has no magic to protect himself, it would make sense to leave it in a house where the demons can't get into. Hades would have protected the book."

"Book? What book? Why do I feel like there's a big secret where us as mages actually need to know what's going on?"

Everyone hummed in agreement with Lucy's words as the butler sighed.

"I'll just do my best to explain all that I know then. Please, no interruptions." He waited for them all to nod in agreement and he nodded back. "Many of you know about Zeref, the strongest dark mage to ever live. We all know of the demons that he has roaming around earthland. Those demons were actually made in order to kill him, but they also ran amok and attacked humans. There is one hidden demon that needs to have the whole words of a book read to them in order to awaken them. That is the book of E.N.D. The lucky thing about this book is that it's written in Mildian language which is now a dead tongue, rendering Zeref worshippers useless in the enchanting."

The man coughed and Wendy patted his back for him. He shot her a grateful look. "I don't actually think that even Zeref's demons are able to enchant it, but that I'm not quite sure on. I do know that my master is from a long line of Mildian readers, where they have kept the language alive in their households. That's probably why my master was taken away."

The man's shoulders sunk and he held his head low. "Then I woke up to see neither the carriage or my other colleague here."

"That's because they knocked you guys out with this assassin's bomb." Gajeel exited from the house with Lily behind him as he held up the case. Lily spoke.

"Judging from how empty it is, I'm going with the fact that they used every last drop of it as well. The others probably all breathed it in and are heavily knocked out. Gajeel said that this stuff could keep you asleep for hours. Anyone with any magic within them wouldn't be able to use magic for the next 24 hours, but seeing as you're not able to use magic anyway, you're fine."

The man sighed and nodded. Suddenly, there was a sound of hooves heading towards them and everyone got in stance to see what was heading their way. They stopped short when they noticed that it was just a horse and the man stood up, smiling a little bit.

"Byron! That's one of the two horses that we had, it seems like he got away. Here boy!"

The horse ran around in panic, but was starting to calm down when he saw the butler and headed towards him slowly. The butler stroked the stallion's head to calm him down and whisper to him. The horse made soft noises and the butler nodded his head and gasped.

Erza raised an eyebrow and nodded at him. "What is the horse saying?"

The others looked at her weirdly and Erza shrugged. "There are some people that although have no magic, they have other talents. My guess is that he's a horse whisperer. He must be getting the information out of him."

They all waited for the man to be done before he turned around to them with a grave face. "Byron spoke of how they stopped here to put everything away when Juvia was feeding him. He ran off but watched from the trees of how Juvia was attacked by a man who looked like a crossbreed of a human and a jackal. He and Juvia fought, but he has some type of exploding magic and overwhelmed her. He is from a guild called Tartaros and mentioned that he is one of the 9 demons gates.

"Eventually, Natsu came out of the building after the canister was thrown inside and he got mad when he saw an unconscious Juvia in Jackal's hand. He slammed her face first to the ground and Natsu attacked him for that. Natsu would have won as well, but it seemed as if Natsu had breathed in too much of the smoke to stay standing. He too fell, and a woman came out from the carriage. She must have sensed the other butler inside and her magic turns people to do things against their will. She sent him to drag out Master Yato's body and then they took the carriage and went on their way."

Everyone was silent as they realised that he had gotten all that information by talking to a horse. They ignored that and noticed that the worse was still making grunts. "What's he saying now?"

The man jumped at the sound of Lucy's voice and his eyes widened before they went back to normal, that Lucy thought she was imagining it.

"Oh, Byron is much afraid, especially since the other horse is his wife." The horse bumped his nose onto the butler's head, but paid no attention. What the horse had told him after was disturbing news that he wasn't sure whether or not he should tell the other mages. It would be wise if he did, but by the sounds of it, it wasn't Natsu's fault and he knew that he was a great mage. He wouldn't let this news taint his mind.

"Byron mentioned that they went off into that direction over there."

They saw where he was pointing and they nodded. Gray stepped forward to the man. "Okay, we think it's best you get Byron back home and you guys stay there. We can handle it from here. We thank you for your help."

Happy piped up. "Don't forget Byron's help."

They all laughed, trying to make the situation a light one after the bad news of the kidnapping. The man nodded before they headed towards the house.

"I'll just get a few supplies and a saddle to ride with him. What are you guys going to do?"

Gajeel crossed his arms over his chest as he stood next to Wendy who hadn't had the heart to look cheerful all day.

"We'll wait for the 24 hours to be up before their scent goes live for us to follow again. Right now, we have no idea what way they went. Unless I go on ahead and see if there are any people who might have spotted them."

The man shook his head. "There are no more people from here on out. As you can probably tell, Hades just wanted peace and quiet away from everyone. He rarely came here, but when he did, he didn't want anyone around him, hence why there's no people."

Gajeel nodded. "Looks like we're staying here until the 24 hours is up then. Thanks for your time."

"No problem. Please, alert me when you've found everyone."

"We shall sir, you can rely on us."

The man nodded. "Thank you, Titania. Thank you all of you."

The man rode off while the others stayed back. They glanced at one another and Gajeel nodded. "Now, we wait."

* * *

When Natsu woke up, He was staring at the ceiling. He groaned as he stood up, his muscles roaring that he shouldn't do so and he ran his hand through his hair. The events of the kidnapping came back to him and he quickly looked around him, wondering where the hell he was.

He looked around for Juvia and noticed her lying on her front in the cell next to him. She was against the bars closest to him and he swore before practically crawling over to her. "J-Juvia. Juvia, wake up. Juvia!"

He shook the female mage gently through the cold bars of the cell and he gritted his teeth, trying to shake her awake. "Juvia, please, you've gotta wake up!"

The girl finally stirred and she moaned out loud, making Natsu sigh in relief that she was at the very least alive. Her breathing had been really faint and Natsu panicking couldn't really make him hear her. She slowly opened her eyes and found that Natsu was staring right at her, worry marring his face. She couldn't move, her body was so sore from the fight that she had had with Jackal.

"N-Natsu. Where are we?"

Natsu looked around and shrugged helplessly. "I've got no clue Juve, but I'm pretty sure they captured us while we were knocked out. I'm so sorry I couldn't get to you in time when you were fighting Jackal. Maybe if I had been listening out for them, I would have managed to get to you on time and we wouldn't be here."

Juvia smiled lightly and shook her head a little bit. "No Natsu, it's fine, please don't blame yourself. Juvia wonders what they want with us though, Juvia thought they would have just grabbed the book and left us alone. What do we have to do with it?"

Natsu shook his head and sighed. He saw Juvia wince as she sat up slowly and he remembered how Jackal had just slammed her into the ground head first. His anger was boiling up as he clenched his fists. He couldn't even feel his fire around him, it was like they took it, making him all the more angry.

Juvia looked at him and held his hand through the bars. Natsu looked up at her as she threw him a smile that made his anger diminish. He locked his fingers within hers and gave her a smile back. "It will be okay, Natsu. We're members of Fairy Tail, nothing can keep us here. The others will find us, and even if they don't, we're strong enough ourselves to find a way to get out of here."

Natsu grinned at Juvia's words of encouragement and nodded his head. "Yeah, you're right!"

They heard another groan their heads snapped towards the sound of it. Opposite their cell was Yato. He was just coming to after being knocked out by the sleeping gas. They other two crawled their way to the front of their cell to get his attention.

"Yato! Yato, are you okay?"

"Do I look okay to you guys?" He snapped at them before sighing. "They already knew where I was going to be heading and they came to take the book."

"Okay, they've got the book, but what do they need you for?"

"Despite them being Zeref's demons and being created by him themselves, he didn't actually give them the ability to read the Mildian language. The Mildian empire was destroyed, except from my family. My ancestor was a quadruplet. At the time, most men who didn't go into magic, had to become warriors and go for their coming of age ceremony. Before that was to happen, they had to travel and learn what is was to become a man. This meant that my ancestor and his 3 brothers weren't around at the time of when Zeref's curse killed everyone in the land. That made the four of them the last Mildian survivors, alongside Zeref of course."

Juvia nodded her head, understanding the situation. "So because of that, Juvia guessing that they kept the Mildian language alive through their families, therefore passing it on for many generations. Is Yato the last one?"

"No, I'm very sure that I have more family members somewhere, but as I said before, we're dying off one by one. Probably something to do with this guild. My best guess is that when they get a lead of one of my relatives, they try and see if they have the book of E.N.D. If not, they kill them anyway."

They heard a noise and when they both looked up, they saw Natsu had punched the wall. "Well, that's gonna have to stop. There's gonna be no more killing, I'm gonna make sure I put a stop to that."

Juvia smiled at Natsu determination and nodded. "Right! And Juvia's going to help." She watched as Natsu turned back to face her and when she saw the look in his eyes, she couldn't help but blush and turn away. Sometimes, when they looked at each other, she got this intense wave of feelings just rush over her and it was overwhelming.

"Well well well, look who's finally woken up."

Their heads snapped up as they turned to the door of the cellar. Natsu growled and even Juvia had a look of anger written across her face. Natsu was up against the cell bars, grasping it in his hands and shaking the bars, trying his best to rip them down.

"Jackal, why don't you let us go and we have that fight of ours, huh?"

"Well, you've still got no magic for a few hours, so what fun would that be? Either way, I would still cream you, you weakling."

"Jackal, stop antagonising him. Lord E.N.D. it's a pleasure to meet you."

Yato, Natsu and Juvia blinked at Seilah's words. Natsu raised an eyebrow at her. "Uh, my name's Natsu, what are you talking about?"

Jackal laughed and even Seilah smirked. Juvia was looking at Natsu while Yato's eyes widened in fear. "N-no! You don't really mean it!"

Jackal laughed even harder. "He gets it! Oh this is great, such a plot twist! Everyone's gonna be shocked about this one! Natsu Dragneel is E.N.D himself! Even if you're pathetic guild were to come and find you, will they still want you after they find out that you're actually a demon?"

Natsu frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about, are you tryna get into my head?! Open this fucking cell for me now and I'll beat you to a pulp!"

"Natsu...it's true."

They all looked at Yato who was staring at the floor, almost as if he were afraid to look into natsu's eyes. Natsu faltered. Yato's actions were too genuine for him to be lying and he could hear his heart pounding from fear. Juvia shook her head in disbelief as she let out a hushed, "what?"

"E.N.D. is a demon that has been sealed away for many years. No one knows who he or she is. All we know is that as soon as the whole book has been chanted to them, it will reawaken their true form, reinstating them as the demon they were made to be. There is no reason for you and Juvia to be here unless one of you would have been E.N.D. I'm here to translate the book, you're here-"

"NO!"

Everyone in the room turned to look at Juvia. Her head was down as her hair covered her face. She was vibrating with visible anger and her fists were clenched so tightly by her side, that she drew blood.

"No," she said once more. "There is no way that Natsu is E.N.D. Juvia won't believe it! Natsu is the kindest person Juvia knows. His heart is large, and he's always proving people wrong. He knows how to laugh and how to make someone's spirits feel lifted after they've been kicked down. Natsu is the epitome of a loving Nakama and you're standing there, trying to tell Juvia that Natsu is _E.N.D?_ Please, save the bullshit for someone else!"

Seilah who was usually the calm one, stood in front of Juvia's cell and stared at her, unspoken rage in her eyes, though her face was calm. Juvia reflected that look as they stood there face to face.

"We may be demons, but we do not lie and we certainly do not lie like you humans do, in order to make people feel better. We do not sugarcoat the truth, we are blunt with it. It's not my fault that your emotions are clouding you judgement and ruling you. Natsu here is indeed E.N.D. His name is Etherious Natsu Dragneel, hence the initials. I'm not here to make you feel hope, little girl, we are here to collect what we need to kill Zeref."

Juvia was taken aback by the end part as she raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"It's as I told you guys before Juvia. Zeref made his demons in order to kill him, but because they're demons, they've also run amok and gained a dislike for humans. Zeref has programmed them to take him out, as well as wipe out humanity in order to start all over."

Juvia remembered the history that Yato had told them and she nodded. She noticed Seilah smirking and she reached out through the bars to touch her. Juvia smacked her hand away from her and growled. Natsu growled as well. No one was to touch Juvia.

"You would make a fine demon. I like your attitude. How would you like to become a demon with us? You will not be part of the destruction that we are about to rain down on you humans. No, you shall be exempt from this, as well as able to stay by Natsu's side, seeing as you are fond of him."

"Why would Juvia want to do that. We're going to be getting out of here soon, so the only time that Juvia will be by Natsu's side is back in Fairy Tail, after we've defeated you guys."

Jackal yawned loudly. "Soooo typical. We knew you were gonna say that, but don't worry. We always get what we want into the end, there's nothing you can do to stop us."

Juvia looked over at Natsu who was staring at Jackal. They were magicless and Yato wasn't even a fighter, talk less of able to use magic. How were they going to get out of this one? She didn't want to believe it, she really didn't. There was no way that Natsu could be a demon, there wasn't!

"You must be hungry. I'll have Lamy bring in some food for you all. Rest well, we have a big enchantment ahead of us soon."

Juvia there and then decided that she didn't like it when Seilah wasn't showing them a blank face. She looked absolutely creepy and she looked like the sort of demon who can get things done in a very precise way. Her smirk brought that of promise, not a threat.

Both demons left and Juvia felt like she could suddenly breathe again. She looked up at Yato who was staring at Natsu. She noted that he longer has fear written in eyes, but more of remorse. Juvia could understand why in his situation. He had no magic to protect himself. The demons could easily take him and make him read the book.

She turned to Natsu who was just standing there, staring at nothing. Juvia's heart broke for him as tears started welling up in her eyes. She rubbed at her eyes furiously and scolded herself mentally. Now was not the time to cry, she had to stay strong for Natsu.

"Natsu..."

"Juvia, I want you to run. When we get our magic back, you've gotta go. Take Yato with you and go. I'll try my best to be a distraction so that they don't get Yato and that he doesn't read that book."

Juvia gasped and held onto the bars as she shouted at Natsu. "How could Natsu _say_ that? Juvia isn't leaving Natsu here! We can get out of here together, the three of us!"

Natsu turned his head to Juvia in anger. "It's no use! If you stay back and fight, who's going to take care of getting Yato out of here? There's nine of those strong demons, and I bet that every other member of this guild has already been turned into a demon! Yato could get ambushed by one of them! Just THINK!"

Juvia stared at Natsu in shock as he had yelled at her and she diverted his eyes. Yato sat there not looking at them. It was awkward for him to be in such a situation and he tried to stay out of it, though it was hard because it was about him.

Natsu finally realised what he had done and sighed. "I-I'm sorry for shouting."

"No, it's fine, Juvia is just having a hard time believing all this. Juvia doesn't want to believe it at all. Is there no other way to get out? Can't we think of something better?"

Natsu sighed and walked towards Juvia. He put his hand through the space in the bars and cupped the back of Juvia's head and he rested his forehead against hers, bars on either side of their heads. Juvia closed her eyes as she could feel the tears starting to build up once more. She had to stop them falling. She wanted to nothing more than cling to him and cry, but she had to be strong. Now was not the time to cry.

"I'll try and think of a better way, but for now, this is all I've got. It'll be okay."

They heard the door open up again and some smallish looking girl with rabbit ears and a lab coat came rushing in. She took one look at Natsu and started swooning with the trays of food in her hands.

"Wow, no one told me that E.N.D was this hot! Oh Master, I can't wait to get to know you!" She then noticed how close Natsu was with Juvia and her eyes flashed green with envy, almost throwing down the food.

"You _slut_ , how dare you touch my Endykins?!"

Juvia rolled her eyes at her and ignored her before staring up at Natsu. She blushed at how close they were together and how he was staring into her eyes, showing her signs of promise. They were going to be okay if she cooperated. It will be fine, Natsu will get out safely and if anything, she will leave Yato somewhere safe and go back in to help him, simple!

"Here's your food old man." They watched Lamy open the door to Yato's cell and slide his tray across the floor before closing it off again. She turned around to face Juvia and Juvia knew instantly that she was debating on whether or not she should give some food to her. Juvia would have laughed at her jealousy, had they been in a very different situation.

After a mental debate, she saw Lamy grumble to herself and she opened the door and pushed her tray across the floor. Before anyone knew what was going on, Juvia had already knocked the little demon out. All three of them blinked at one another before Juvia grabbed the food and threw Lamy inside her cell and locked it.

Natsu was jumping up and down in excitement as Juvia unlocked his and Yato's cell, the three of them looking at each other in shock.

"I can't believe you just did that Juvia! You knocked her out so easily!"

"That was quite extraordinary!"

Juvia shrugged, her cheeks flushed from the adrenaline rushing through her. "Juvia wasn't really thinking! She made Juvia so mad and Juvia knew that she probably wasn't expecting an attack from us, seeing as we have no magic. She must have thought she was safe. Grab your food, we don't know how long we will be here for finding a way out, so if we eat now, we're good to go."

Natsu nodded and decided to lead the way. With his sense of smell and hearing, he'll guide them away from any danger. That was the best thing that they could do for now. Yato smirked at Juvia as he walked by her.

"I know why you attacked her."

Juvia raised an eyebrow and yato leaned in.

"You liiiiike him."

Juvia almost squealed as her hand flew to her mouth to stop the sound from coming out. She didn't doubt for a second that demons have good hearing just like dragon slayers. Her eyes were wide as she looked at him and her face went bright red. She diverted her eyes from his and smiled a little, removing her hands from her mouth. She shrugged. "Juvia guesses she does."

They were walking silently around the place before Natsu turned to them and placed his finger on his lips to silence them and to make them halt. The two of them nodded and they could suddenly hear the voices.

"I heard that Lord E.N.D. is here!"

"I know, we can finally end Master Zeref's life and destroy the magic that this world has to offer. Humans have ruined everything with their war and selfishness. The world shall start anew."

The two voices chuckled and Juvia practically had to hold Natsu back from attacking the two of them. Their footsteps were getting fainter and fainter before they didn't hear of them again. Natsu nodded as they headed across the hallway. They then heard a door open and panic arose in their system. The figure who had opened the door, luckily hadn't walked out of it, but they were still talking to someone in there.

Yato noticed another door and silently opened it as he pulled the two magicless mages through it and again closed the door in perfect silence. They heard the door next the room they were in shut and footsteps pass by their room before they too faded.

They released a breath that they were all holding, and when Natsu was about to say something, Juvia's hand covered his mouth. His eyes widened as he looked at her serious expression and she shook her head, pointing to the wall next to them. Someone else was still in there, and if they heard them, they would be done for.

Natsu nodded his head and continued to stare into Juvia's eyes. She stared back at him as they were lost in their own little world, until Yato started shuffling around them. Juvia removed her hand slowly from Natsu's mouth and he suddenly missed the feel of her soft skin against his lips.

They looked around the room and saw a window. Natsu smirked and walked up to it. He looked down to see how far they would have to jump and he shrugged his shoulders at it, thinking he could probably land it. He turned his head when he heard movement in the next room and he froze. The other two followed in suit when they heard the door from the next room open. The footsteps came towards their room and they closed their eyes, praying that they would walk by like the first set of footsteps did, but it paused at their door.

The three hostages looked at each other, a hidden panic settling in their eyes as they all said the same thing mentally.

" _Shit."_

The door was thrown wide open, and just as Juvia had done, Natsu had launched himself at the person who had opened the door. The demon didn't even know what hit him. One minute, he was staring at Natsu and then next, it was dark.

Juvia giggled at Natsu as he turned and shot her wink. He closed to the door and dragged the body off into the wardrobe before turning back to the other two in the room.

"I was looking out of the window and thought that the best way to get out of this place is probably to jump down."

"WHAT?!"

Yato and Juvia were looking at Natsu as if he had suddenly grown two heads on his neck and started eating poo. Yato didn't know if Natsu was this crazy and did stuff like this all the time, but he had looked out of the window at the same time Natsu had and saw how far up they were. That wasn't gonna happen.

Juvia was only scared because her magic still hadn't returned back to her yet. Although the fight with Jackal hadn't made her lose her magic, she guessed that Jackal and Seilah made her inhale the assasin's sleeping gas while she was knocked out. That would mean that it wouldn't be until a few minutes after Natsu got his magic back that she would get hers and it hadn't been 24 hours yet. It had probably only been 12 hours by now.

"Yeah, I'll jump down with Yato first and once I've put him down, Juvia can jump after. I'll be down there and you just jump into my arms, okay?"

"Not okay, Natsu, it's so high up, there's no way you'll catch Juvia. Juvia suggests we just tie up the demon and stay in here until the 24 hours are up and we get our magic back, then Juvia can at least safely transport us down using water magic! There's no rush!"

Natsu walked up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "What, are you afraid I won't catch you? Because I will. I'll never let you fall. I'll never let you go."

Juvia clutched at her heart when she heard the words that natsu had told her and she smiled and nodded, giving into him. Juvia then remembered what Jackal had said.

"Ah! Jackal had said something about them not having magic, but rather curses! Juvia thinks it would be wise to go now, while they can't sense our magic now! They sense magic to pinpoint exactly where we are, hence why they can't really find us now! Yato, Juvia knows you're scared, but we need to jump."

The man sighed and nodded. Natsu grabbed him as Juvia was opening the windows. Natsu looked at her and nodded as she nodded back to him. He jumped down from the window and landed on his two feet, Yato practically fainted and Natsu had to set him down as the man was spouting nonsense about jumping and dying. Natsu chuckled and when he turned to look at Juvia, she wasn't there.

His eyes widened as he could hear signs of a fight going on in the room. "Natsu! Natsu, they're here!"

Natsu swore and hid Yato in a bush before starting to climb up the wall. There were loose bricks here and there, but Natsu didn't even care. Juvia was up in there and there was no way he was going to be leaving without her.

He finally climbed through and he was met with a very different demon. She had what seemed to be a helmet on her head that covered mainly everything, save for her eyes, mouth and nose. She had green wing like things coming out from the side of the helmet and Natsu couldn't help but stare in shock at the claws she had for hands.

"Why, Lord E.N.D. it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person! My name is Kyoka, one of the 9 demons here and the strongest underneath the guild master himself. Please, allow for me to get rid of the garbage standing here before you, nothing would make me happier."

She smirked slightly and Natsu tore his gaze away from her claws and growled when he saw that she had grabbed Juvia around her neck. Juvia was struggling to get out of her grip and it made Kyoka's smirk widen even more.

"I must say Lord E.N.D. you do have good taste in play things. Hopefully you'll let me borrow her sometimes."

She stroked Juvia's face and let her claws brush gently over Juvia chest. The girl cried out in disgust, but her body yearned to be touched more. She felt dirty as she didn't know what kyoka had done to her. Natsu was enraged.

"What are you doing to her?"

"My curse is of enhancement. I can enhance one's pain, pleasure and even physical attributes. I've done a lot to your body in the time that it took for lord E.N.D. to climb up here, yet it would seem like you're still alive. You will make an amazing demon."

She dropped Juvia as she blocked Natsu's punch and she laughed as she kicked him in the gut, making him grunt of the floor.

"But unfortunately, you're still your human self, _Natsu._ Unfortunately for you, Seliah has already found where you put Yato and has used her own curse of Macro against him. You now stand no chance against turning into your true self."

Juvia had crawled over to Natsu with tears in her eyes and cupped his face. "What are we going to do, Natsu?"

Natsu held her hand and kissed her forehead gently, making her pause as he got up. Kyoka watched in amusement as Natsu stood up and glared at her.

"Let Juvia go. In fact, after Yato's read the whole book, let him and even the other butler that drove the carriage here, let them all go. They're not your play things and I'll become your E.N.D. If you don't keep your end of the bargain, I'll kill you all."

Kyoka nodded her head and bowed deeply. "Very well, as you wish it. I shall have Seilah release the butler and he can get Juvia back to safety. Thank you, Lord E.N.D."

Natsu glared at her to get out as Juvia stood up and grabbed him. "What does Natsu mean?! Juvia will rather go in Natsu's place, we should just escape while we have the chance now! Please Natsu, you can't do this!"

Natsu grabbed her into a hug as she held him tight and sobbed. "Juve, it's the only way. I just hope I don't lose my conscience if I do. Even if I do, I trust you to be able to bring me back. All of Fairy Tail can do it, you hear me? I need to get you, Yato and that butler safe. This is the only way."

Juvia cried harder as her tears sent spasms through her body. She couldn't let him go. She would rather become a demon with him than let him go, but he was right. They were surrounded by demons and they had too many hours to wait for their magic to come back. There was no way that they would be able to fend off a whole guild without their magic.

Juvia calmed down and pulled away from Natsu. Reaching up to her neck, she unclasped the Fairy Tail necklace that she had made before she officially joined the guild. She held it in her hands as she held into Natsu. Giving him a light, she looked up at him.

"Juvia wants Natsu to have this. Just something to remember Juvia by when Natsu's dormant power is unleashed." She didn't want to believe that he was E.N.D. but more of something that was sealed within him.

She went to put it in her hand when he stopped her. She looked up at him with curious eyes. "No, can you help me put it on? I want to wear it."

She nodded, feeling a little shocked. She thought that he might want to keep it in his pocket or something, not actually wear it. She tiptoed and wrapped her arms around his neck and put the clasp on. Natsu's hands wound themselves around her waist and he drew her in for one final hug. He buried his face in the crook of her hair and sniffed in deeply.

They stayed in that position for a while before Seilah walked in and rolled her eyes with a scoff. "Come along now. The quicker we get this done, the quicker the three humans get to leave."

Juvia glared that the horned demon and let go of Natsu. They walked close together and they left the room. Kyoka was still standing there, smirking a little bit. "I still say we turn her into a demon though. She would be perfect."

"Do that and I'll finish you all without my magic."

Natsu was no longer playing. His face was straight and held held onto Juvia's hand for her to stay close to him. Yato stood there, frightened by everything, but it was too late. He had been commanded to read the book of E.N.D. and in fact, he had already started reading it. Juvia glared at Seilah and she shrugged.

"The book of E.N.D is a long one, we needed to get a head start on reading it before we came up here."

"So either way, you guys were already going along with the plan?"

"Exactly. Don't worry, the little deal saved you though. If Natsu hadn't agreed, you would already be dead, and after the chanting, so would Yato. Your lives have now been spared."

They were taken to the huge room where there was a man sitting on the throne, his leg crossed over the other and his right arm propping up his head, almost as if he were bored. He opened his eyes lazily and smiled darkly when he saw who was entering the room. His left arm clutched onto another book and Juvia deduced that that's the book where all the other demons come from.

"Well, if it isn't E.N.D. It is an honour to meet you, your majesty. Please, make yourself feel welcome to your home."

Juvia's grip on his hand tightened and Natsu squeezed it right back, to say that she was safe for now. The other butler was brought in and rudely shoved next to them. Juvia helped the man stand up and noticed that he was quaking with fear. Juvia flashed him a small smile to show him that everything was going to be okay, but he couldn't seem to calm down. Juvia could understand that.

Slowly, the demons started filling the room up one by one and it dawned on Juvia that Natsu unlocking E.N.D. was really the only way for them to get out. There were so many of them coming in and there were 7 others who came and stood by their master, showing that they were the ones that completed the 9 demon gates.

Natsu looked up at the most human looking one of them and raised an eyebrow. There was a certain scent about him, almost as if he smelt like someone he knew, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. He looked back down at Juvia who had started looking around the room and he knew what she was thinking. There were too many demons to shake off if they were to have just run on time.

"Well would you look at that, we're on the final 2 pages already. I suggest you let go of the human's hand now, my liege. I doubt you would want to rip her apart."

Natsu snarled as everyone around him cheered. He looked down at Juvia, and suddenly, the urge to kiss her was there. He really wanted to kiss her. It was almost as though it were the countdown to his death and if he didn't do this, it would grate on the back of his mind. Over a week he had come in contact with Juvia and they went on a few jobs together and even trained in the woods. It was fun. He felt like they had gone through so much already, that he wanted for her to have something to remember him by.

He looked at all the watchful eyes as they were looking closely to see their 'Prince' come back to them and help them fulfill their destiny. It was finally going to happen. Even their calm looking master was leaning forward, a crazed look in his eyes. It was like he hadn't been excited in a long time.

"Juvia-"

"Unleash."

Yato had finished reading the whole book and Natsu collapsed. Juvia screamed and suddenly, Yato and he butler were ripping her off of him. She had to unclasp her hand from his because soon enough, all the demons started swarming in, in order to make sure that E.N.D. woke up in a bed and not on the ground. The butler placed Juvia on his back as the three of them ran. Juvia had no more strength. She was weak. She had tears running down her face, but she dare not look back.

Once they got outside, Juvia jumped off of the butler's back and they all ran to the carriage. The butler got on top make the horse move and Yato and Juvia sat in silence in the carriage. She had dried her tears. It was too late, crying wasn't going to solve anything. It was time to find a way for her to get Natsu back.

" _Juvia is coming Natsu. Juvia will get you back."_

* * *

So, how was that? Was it okay? I've got a little confession to make, I was super lazy to name the butler's so I didn't bother naming them, yet when it came to the horse, the name seemed to flow right out of me which was pretty crazy lol.

So as I stated before, this is all now fresh ideas on the story, Sakura no longer has anything to do with it. I'm not using her ideas and I'm not keeping them either. The only things I might keep might be the names of chapters. If they link to my topic anyway lol. But yeah, this is all Lolita baby!

Please don't forget to rate or hate, flames or floods! i know you guys have been waiting a few months for it, so here it is!

Lolita-chan


	7. Changed

Hey, Dark Gothic Lolita here!

SO GUESS WHO'S BAAAACK! Yup, ME! Exams are done, and so is my 2nd year at university! Where is the time bloody going?! i'm aware that you guys have missed me like crazy, but if you follow me on tumblr (if you don't, follow **dark-gothic-lolita** ), you would see that my activity has risen quite a bit, showing that I am a free woman. Now all I'm doing is working my butt off to afford my semi expensive lifestyle (food is damn expensive guys!)

But yeah, tell the tale, Lolita-chan is back online and can HOPEFULLY start replying to all your reviews now as well! I feel really guilty when I don't because I just don't have time!

Disclaimers are boring.

ENJOY!

* * *

 **Heartbroken**

 **Changed**

The others stared at Juvia in surprise as they saw a carriage pull up outside and the water mage jumped out of it with an older man as well as the other butler. They all scrambled to the door, happy that she was safe and sound, as well as waiting for Natsu to jump out of the carriage.

"Ameonna!"

Gajeel was the first to reach her as she was lifted up into the air and the others were grinning at her. Happy straight away ran up to the carriage, but stopped dead when there was no one else inside. He blinked and shook as he stared at the water girl, who didn't seem too happy to be in Gajeel's arms. He looked closer at her face and noticed that her eyes were red and raw, almost as if she had been crying for a really long time.

"Ju-Juvia?"

Everyone paused at Happy's shaky voice and Team Natsu seemed to remember Natsu. Erza shook her head fondly while coming forward. "Ah, Natsu must have been throwing up in there right? Let's get him out and we shall be on our way home! You must tell us of how you escaped-"

"Gajeel-kun. Put me down."

Gajeel dropped her by accident when he heard the 1st pronoun come out of her mouth, instead of her 3rd person speech. Juvia fell to her feet gracefully as she stared into Happy's eyes. The tears were welling up, but she made sure that she didn't cry. Happy's eyes widened as he ran into her arms that she left wide open for him. Yato himself had tears in his eyes, trying to cover his face with the book of E.N.D. and the 2nd butler hung his head low.

"N-Natsu risked his life for us. He made a deal with them, that he will turn into a demon...if they let us go."

Happy hugged her hard, crying out with her as she gave into the tears. Everyone stood around, shaking hard, as it dawned on them that Natsu was being turned into a demon. Erza clenched her fist.

"Then we must go back! We will go and get him, I can contact Warren to send us back up, Laxus and the rest can come and help!"

Carla shook her head, tears rolling from her eyes as she looked at Juvia. Somehow, Juvia could feel the female exceeds eyes on her as she asked the question that Juvia wanted to avoid answering at all costs.

"He's E.N.D, isn't he? E.N.D. was sealed in Natsu and they've unleashed it, am I right?" The Princess exceed had had a vision with Natsu destroying everything around him happily, but she hadn't known what it had meant, until now.

Before Juvia could respond, Happy ripped his way out of the hug and he had the most frightening expression on his face. Carla gasped and Lily came to stand in front of her, in case his fellow exceed lost his mind and decided to attack the poor exceed.

"How dare you say that? Natsu is Natsu, not E.N.D!"

Lucy laughed shakily, the whole situation becoming harder and harder to take in. "Happy is right, Natsu couldn't be harbouring a demon in him at all. This is Natsu we're talking about."

"Shut up."

Everyone's heads turned to Yato as he stood there, his face stern and serious. Juvia had never really seen him this way, even when he found out that Natsu was E.N.D. He held the book in his hands as he shook his head at them all.

"As the guardian of the book of E.N.D. I know how the sealing and the unleashing works. If Natsu wasn't harbouring E.N.D. there would have been no reason to kidnap him, they would have just taken me and then found where E.N.D was sealed."

"Yeah, but they took Juvia as well! Maybe they just took the both of them as well, you know, as hostage?" Gray wasn't going to believe that his best friend/rival was the demon that could reign judgement on them all before Zeref will deliver the final blow. The thought of it made him want to vomit.

"True, but they took Juvia as an incentive. Juvia was never really important, but because she was on the team with him, they wanted to get Natsu to cooperate without a fight, though at the end of the day, they still didn't need to take Juvia. Seilah, one of the demons, her curse is that she can command anyone to do anything that she wants them to do, against their own will. She...she commanded me to read the whole book of E.N.D. After I did so, Natsu collapsed and they told us to get out of there before he woke up, as it wouldn't be pretty."

They were all silent, taking it all in and Juvia stood up and dusted herself down. "For now, there is nothing we can do, other than go back and tell Master everything. I'll be useless to go back and fight, I probably have about another 8 or 9 hours before my magic is restored. I was there guys. Those people were demons, they're not like regular guilds. They use curses, not magic. I myself don't understand it, but it's extremely powerful."

Juvia remembered her fight with Jackal and thought about how he beat her up to the point of unconsciousness. It had been a while since anyone had made her black out in a fight. It was scary knowing that she was weak. She had to train, to become stronger. She had to find a way to get Natsu back.

Juvia scooped Happy up into her arms and he hugged her tightly, refusing to say anything. He didn't want to believe it, but he had no right to suddenly start crying over Natsu's situation, not after the way he had treated him. He had no doubt that Juvia wasn't lying about this, not when Juvia had become the better friend.

"Are we gonna get Natsu back?"

Juvia looked down at the blue exceed in her arms and hated how weak he sounded. Juvia held him tighter to her frame, her resolve shining through. Her eyes shone with determination and she nodded her head, her jaw clenched.

"I promise you, Happy. I'm going to find way to make sure that makes sure that Natsu will get back safely, even if it has to cost me my own life."

She heard someone running up behind her and noticed that it was Wendy. The facial expression that the girl was making made the older girl stop and turn to face her. She tilted her head and questioned her. "What's wrong, why the face? Don't cry, we'll get him back, okay?"

"It's all my fault that you guys got taken, if I had been able to smell you guys out, we would have gotten to you on time!"

Juvia blinked and smiled slightly, before crouching down to her, as if she were a young child. Happy hopped out of her arms and stood next to her. Everyone seemed to be walking at a distance, almost as if they didn't want to ruin the moment.

"To be honest, you guys shouldn't have been following us in the first place, it wasn't your job. If you guys had gotten caught up in it all and gotten yourselves hurt, I would have probably blamed myself for that too. At least you got this far, it's nice to have your friends around you after this sort of thing. Besides, they masked our scent and when they rendered us magicless, that made us scentless for the next 24 hours. What I'm saying is that you shouldn't beat yourself up over something that you had no control over, ne? Now let's get some rest before we go home."

She stood up and overwhelmed by feelings, Wendy ran into her for a hug. Juvia blinked. Wendy usually did this stuff to Erza, not her, but she smiled softly and wrapped her arms around the girl she saw as a younger sister.

Juvia turned her head to see Gray and Erza twitching, almost as if they wanted to run off in the carriage and go and rescue Natsu themselves, but Juvia shot them a look.

"Guys, trust me when I saw that you won't be able to go by yourselves. This is no longer a joke. The demons were talking about wiping out humans and magic. This isn't something we have to be taking lightly. We need Master's help, as well as every other guild's help as well."

They nodded and they all followed her into the house. Juvia sighed and sat down at the table as the two butlers started preparing them all some dinner. Yato sat down in the chair opposite her and pushed the book towards her. She raised her eyebrow at his behaviour and looked at the book before looking up at him again.

"I want you to have the book."

Juvia stuttered. This book seemed too important to be in her possession. That and she couldn't understand a single word that was written in the book. "W-what?! But why?"

"Like most spells, there is a way to dispel it. The trouble is with this one, it's kind of set in stone and if I tell you the real truth about Natsu, I'm pretty sure you'll want to kill me."

Juvia looked around, hoping that Gajeel and Wendy were nowhere near by before she motioned with her hand for him to carry on. Yato sighed, grumbling that today was going to be his funeral.

"Natsu isn't _just_ harbouring E.N.D. Natsu _is_ E.N.D. 400 years ago, Zeref's younger brother died from an illness. Since then, Zeref has been obsessed with raising people from the dead. He tried to use his magic to bring back his dead brother, but life and death isn't something that should be messed with. He was cursed by the Mildian god of death, Ankhseram. He was granted immortality, but there was a twist to it. Every time he came to appreciate life, everything and everyone around him would die."

Juvia covered her mouth with her hands while Yato continued. "For over 400 years, he's gone around trying to find a way for something to kill him, hence why he made up all these demons. He was able to make his strongest demon yet, using the body of his brother."

"Natsu."

Juvia jumped and when she looked up at the entrance of the kitchen, she saw Gajeel standing there, his eyes narrowed, his arms crossed over his chest as he was staring at Yato. The older man nodded his head as Gajeel came and sat down next to Juvia.

Yato nodded and Juvia was surprised. "Natsu is Zeref's brother?"

"Yes, I read it in one of the passages while I was reading the book."

"Okay, that's all well and good, but what does that have to do with Juvia taking the book off of your hands?"

Yato smiled and leaned back in his seat. "No one will ever think that Juvia has the book. The spell to destroy E.N.D and leave just the Natsu that you know behind is in there. I'm the only one who can read Mildian and they will think that I have the book, creating the perfect diversion for you to power up the spell."

Juvia raised an eyebrow and looked at Gajeel who looked back her. They were going to question him when he answered their unspoken question. "Zeref is smart, you know. He's been alive for over 400 years and has gained the title as the strongest living mage. With his immortality, no one can really end the guy's life. He knew that this day would come, when E.N.D. will be reawakened, and he doesn't want him to be destroyed, but in the event that E.N.D. would be useless in destroying him, he has a way to finish him off. You read the whole book backwards."

"Then why don't you just fucking do that then?!"

Juvia clutched Gajeel's forearm to stop him from jumping the old man. Juvia had been listening attentively and she grabbed the book and opened it. The words meant nothing to her, but she couldn't help but understand bits and pieces here and there. _How_?

"My guess is that the person who reads this book to unleash the curse, they can not be the same person to read this book backwards, am I right?"

Yato slowly nodded and Gajeel's eyes widened, surprised that Juvia was able to decipher it that quickly. He shook his head to get over his initial shock. "Then we can get the shrimp to decipher it, she's good with translating stuff, and really smart too."

Yato shook his head as Juvia clutched the book towards her chest. She wasn't going to let Levy do that. She felt like this was her calling, something within her was telling her that she was the only one who would be able to translate the dead language and bring it back to life. She made a promise to Happy that she was going to bring Natsu back, and there was no way she was going to break that promise now.

"You see, the only person who can read the book backwards is the person who has bonded the most with him, and my guess is that it's Juvia. Just look at the book."

They both looked down and the book seemed to glow a dull gold colour. Juvia gasped. "Won't they be able to track the book if it's in this state? The magic powering this book can not be hidden from Zeref..."

"Don't worry about that. The magic has been used up for now in order to revive E.N.D. It will take near enough another 2-3 months before it will restart up again."

"I will do anything, in order to make sure that Natsu returns back to us."

Yato nodded his head. "Good-"

"Wait, but do we even _have_ two months? That's a long time to wait for this stupid book to power up again, what if they attack before then? I'm not having no 'the-world-is-ending type of war shit going on here!"

Juvia giggled and Yato smiled as well. "Whatever the demons are planning, it's not ready yet. I heard hushed words of how their plan to wipe out all magic across the earth isn't finished yet and that it will take a few months before they can attack. Besides, Natsu would need a lot of time to train with his End curse again."

"It sounds too coincidental to me."

"Well that's all we can get! For the demons to give this back to us, that means they don't know about the spell to bring Natsu back! Plus, they're useless with this book anyway, they can't understand the language. Yato, can you teach me how to read this?"

The man nodded. "I'll try to teach you as much as I can. Now, go and call the others, it's dinner time."

* * *

Natsu sat up from his awakening and yawned loudly. Lamy gasped and came forward with a dreamy look in her eyes. "Oh, Lord End, you're awake! Do you need a shower or a bath? Do you need me to help you?"

( **A/N:** From here on out, Natsu will be called End until I say so)

End turned his blazing purple eyes to the young demoness and she stopped in her path. Back when he was human, he had dark onyx eyes. Now, his eyes were purple, and it looked like they had black flames burning through them. (A/N: Imagine it looking like Zancrow's fire god slayer magic) His hair had turned white, but his body was still it's usual tanned colour. He ignored her and looked down at his hands before clenching it. He looked back up and smirked. The next thing Lamy knew, she was lying on the floor, eyes wide and blood dripping from her head.

"Well, would ya look at that, huh? I'm back and unsealed. No more of that stupid human life, I'm back to reign as End! Where's Mard Geer? Time to change some stuff around here."

When he got no response, he looked at the rabbit demon girl and saw that she was now dead. She was slumped against the wall, her head cracked open at the back as her blood spewed out of it. He rolled his eyes and mumbled something about being so dramatic before he stretched himself out. He then sucked in a breath, knowing that it would get everyone in the guild's attention. He was a little pissed that they hadn't realised that he was now awake.

"GOOD MORNING, MOTHERFUCKERS!"

Before he knew it, the 9 demons of the gate were standing in front of him, bowing lowly. Mard Geer materialised in front of them, still holding the book in his hands. He smiled lazily as he bowed deeply.

"Lord End, you're finally awake."

"Damn right I am. I'm gonna need you to make me some sparring demons. Or bring some more demons outta that book. Been trapped for nearly 400 years, I need to get some training in me. Once I see that bastard, he's dead, along with the rest of these dumbass humans."

There was a lot of cheering as the other demons had come to see their true leader, the one that will make their destiny reality. Destined to kill Zeref and then wipe out humanity to then start all over again, it was a refreshing feeling. End grinned devilishly and licked his lips, feeling a little peckish.

"I'm hungry though. I need something to feed on."

Everyone looked at him as they were curious. As demons, they didn't need to eat. Was this what happened when you were stuck as a human for a long time, your system became like one of them? They looked at one another, wondering who would get him some food when he sighed loudly. He was starting to get a little frustrated with them.

"Blood. I drink blood from humans. I'm what humans call a vampire. Get it?"

He ripped the scarf off that he had around his neck, discarding it as he walked towards them. Some demons were on edge, while some looked on in awe. To finally see the great Lord End in person, walking amongst them as if he were a regular demon like them, it was an amazing sight.

"Stop staring and get searching, I need to feed already!"

End glared hard as they all scampered away from him, yelling shouts of mercy so that he didn't kill any of them. Only the 9 demon gates stood there, by his side, unafraid of what he could do to them. He smirked slightly at this and nodded his head.

"What type of blood do you require, my Lord?"

End's smirk dropped as he thought about it. It was bugging him. He shrugged to them all and turned. "Just get me fresh humans. I want them alive and well. No one sick, no one dying and no one dead. Bring them to me alive and well.

They all nodded to him and they disappeared, going to fulfil his request. He dropped onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling, suddenly feeling very tired. He didn't really understand why he was craving the blood of a water mage. They were rare to come by anyway.

~x~

Juvia felt a shiver run down her spine as she walked into her apartment back at Fairy Tail. She sighed and dumped her bags on the table. They had spent the night at Hades' house and realised that it really and truly was alive with magic there. They then went and made sure that Yato was home safely, before all the mages went on back to Fairy Tail.

Juvia sat at her table, not sure of what to do with herself. The last two weeks with Natsu had been a blast. She was the happiest that she had ever been since Gray and Lucy announced that they were dating and for her happiness to just be ripped away from her like that again, it was haunting. Maybe she didn't deserve to have a happy ending. Maybe she was destined to be alone forever.

She looked at her bag and remembered the book of End being in there. She reached over and grabbed for it, pulling the book out of the bag successfully. The book seemed to glow in her hands as she stared at it. She couldn't forget how some words that were written in the book seemed to make perfect sense to her. She just couldn't understand it. Was it a sign that she is indeed the only person who can bring Natsu back?

She didn't realise that she was crying until she felt something wiping her tears. She threw the book across the room in fear as her heart started pounding at mach 20 speed. She jumped up from her seat, looking wildly around the room. When she saw nothing, she felt her face for any spiders that may have landed on her without realising. Nothing.

She raised an eyebrow and sighed before going to pick up the book. She was going mad with worry. That wasn't the sort of mental state she needed in order to find Natsu.

"I must be going crazy. Why...Why did it feel like...How is that even...? No, don't you dare cry!"

She tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling, almost as if it would help to make the tears go back into her eyes. Tears weren't going to solve anything, and they certainly weren't going to save Natsu and bring him back. She grunted and rubbed at her eyes, looking at the book, flicking through all the pages. Once again, she was looking at words that seemed to make perfect sense to her, making the confusion settle in her mind.

Suddenly, her stove burst into flames. She jumped and waved her hands over the fire, which sent a wave of water over it, ultimately putting it out. Her heart was pumping at wild speeds as she panted, shocked and dazed as to what might have just happened. The fire erupted once more and she screeched in anger, having enough. She stood there, looking up with her arms out. She wasn't in the mood for this, she needed to get stronger to bring back Natsu, not have some sort of freak fire in her apartment!

"What do you want with me, can't you see I'm upset?!"

The fire went out immediately and she gulped, not knowing if it was safe to be home right now. She hadn't been expecting for her rhetorical question to be answered and stop the fire. She heard a knock at the door and she jumped, thinking it was another weird superstitious thing happening to her, but she let out a sigh of relief when she heard Gajeel's voice on the other side of the door.

"Oi, ameonna, you okay in there? I was on my way here and I heard you screaming from outside."

She opened the door to see her best friend standing there. She stood aside for him and he walked into the flat, but not before taking many sniffs. He scrunched up his nose as he took many more. Juvia looked at him weirdly, but decided not to question him. With the weird things happening in her house, she didn't want to sleep tonight, knowing that source of the all the strange things was still lurking about. Now that Gajeel was here and he could sense something too, it meant that she wasn't going crazy after all.

"What is it? Do you smell something?"

Gajeel's head swivelled towards the stove that had been burning moments before he knocked on the door and Juvia watched him, astounded. Maybe he could have just smelt the burning smell that the fire was giving off? No, it couldn't have been that, she wasn't cooking anything. He would have asked her for food. There's no other explanation for her stove to be on.

"Can you...feel it too?"

Gajeel turned back to Juvia as she stood there watching him, holding the book closer to her body. He raised an eyebrow, wondering if she could smell what he was smelling too, but quickly discarded that thought. She said 'felt' meaning that there was an aura that matches the smell that he could smell. He was confused, and by the looks of things, so was Juvia. He wearily looked at the book in her hands that she placed so dearly near her chest, wondering if she had learnt any fire spells recently.

"I can't feel it, but I can smell it. Juvia, why does it smell like Salamander's decided to take up cooking classes in your place?"

Line break

Juvia, Gajeel, Wendy, Happy, Lily and Carla were all at Yato's place. Juvia couldn't forget the way everyone was howling when they found out that Natsu was End. Makarov had shushed everyone and they all listened to Juvia as she went into detail as to what happened, seeing as she was the only one there to witness everything. The whole time, her face was blank and void of all emotion. She spoke in the first person, something that didn't go unnoticed by all members of the guild.

Juvia had gone to speak with the master while everyone was crying, or screaming in anger, bouts of doubt flying around the guildhall. There were claims of bringing him back, that it was all going to be fine and the normal Natsu will resurface soon enough.

"Master, I need to be away from the guild for the next two to three months. I must train both my magic and my translation skills. Yato said that I would be the only one who would be able to bring Natsu back, but I must first learn the Mildian language from Yato himself. Please, grant me the allowance to leave."

Juvia had bowed her head lowly as she waited for the master's response. It took a while, but he sighed deeply and when Juvia looked up, his age really showed forth. The wear and tear of all the years, the stress of looking after one of the largest guilds, making sure everyone got the right amount of attention that they all needed. Juvia saw it all, and this pressure just added to it all. She felt sorry for the old man, and she felt like hugging the old man that she had come to see as her own grandfather.

"I'll allow you to go, BUT, you must take a team with you."

"I'll go with her."

They both turned to see Happy looking at them, his face deadpanned and his paws clenched by his side. There was no way he was going to let Juvia save Natsu without him, he was going to help in place of when he should have been there in the first place.

Juvia nodded and beckoned him over. He flew into her arms as she held him, stroking his head and stroking the worries away. She smiled slightly at Happy's resolve and Makarov spoke up.

"While I appreciate that you will go with her, I want more than the two of you to go."

"Then I'll grab Gajeel and Wendy as well as Lily and Carla. That will be the only team I need. I'll keep you updated on whatever we find out, but don't forget, it will take the book about 2-3 months to power up again, and that will be when the demons strike because they will feel it's magic. Everyone needs to train hard because I feel like this battle is just the start of a great war that is going to take place."

That's how they ended up at Yato's house. At least with the three mages there and their exceeds, there was no way that anything bad will happen to Yato. At the same time as them training at his place, they were going to protect him from any evil that was to erupt.

Gajeel and Wendy trained together while the 3 exceeds trained together as well. Juvia trained by herself. She never let anyone see her, didn't even let Wendy heal her when she came back broken and torn from overusing her magic. She would shake her head tiredly and sleep for as long as she needed. Sometimes, she would go down in the middle of the night, limping to go and eat the food that had been set out for her from the dinner they had all eaten earlier.

She spent 6 hours a day with Yato, learning everything she could and she proved to be a quick learner, which never failed to amaze Yato.

"You really are the only one who is able to bring Natsu back. The speed at which you're able to learn this dead language, it's amazing. If it were anyone else, it would take more than triple the time that you're taking to learn in."

That would always make Juvia blush. She never really received much praise, and she remembered the last time that she did, it was from Natsu, after he had watched the way she had handled herself with all the thugs.

Eventually, Happy started training with Juvia. She had been so surprised when he asked her to spar with him, but the serious look on his face made Juvia nod and they sparred. He was good, especially for an exceed that never fought, but would rather wave around a weapon in self defence. Juvia's heart swelled with pride.

Happy himself was no longer the same. He stopped chasing after Carla, only throwing himself into his training that he did with Lily and Juvia. He had to get stronger, he had only 3 months to do it in. There was no way he wasn't going to help in the rescue of Natsu, he had already let him down once and he wasn't going to do it again. He no longer smiled and he barely spoke to anyone, just asking Lily for tips and spoke to Juvia. He only ever made conversation with Juvia.

"Happy-chan."

Happy looked up and saw Juvia's arms wide open. He let the tears fall and he fell into Juvia's chest as she held him close. Juvia was always able to tell when he needed a good cry. She stroked his head and hugged him closer to her.

"It's okay to cry, Happy-chan. You need to stop beating yourself up and smile more. It's ironic when Happy-chan isn't happy. This isn't what Natsu would want, he would want us to get strong and still be able to laugh like there's nothing wrong. Now come on, let's head up to bed, ne?"

He nodded, wiping his tears as Juvia walked back up to her room. Sometimes, Happy would wake up and slide into Juvia's bed while she was sleeping and she would unconsciously wrap an arm around him, as if he were a child who had just had nightmares. Sometimes he would crawl into bed with her before she fell asleep, or most night he would just sleep by himself.

"We're gonna get him back, I promise."

* * *

So how was that chapter? I hope it was good enough, I'm aware that it was shorter than the last chapter.

Okay, let's make a few things clear shall we? In the manga, it is said that Natsu died due to an illness. This was in the history of Zeref. Suddenly, on the Fairy Tail wiki page, it says that Natsu died by a dragon that came and attacked their village, along with his parents. I like the illness story better, because why didn't Zeref try to revive his parents too, why just Natsu? I'll stick to the sickness story.

I had something else to clear up, but I forgot what it was...OH WELL!

Please don't forget to rate or hate, flames or floods! Reviews are so sweet guys!

Lolita-chan


	8. In my head

Hey, Dark Gothic Lolita here!

So I'm back now with a new chapter and I must say, I've had this ready for ages, but i was just finishing up one scene. I must also warn you guys that I've done something in this story that I haven't done in a while. Time skips. I have put about 1 or 2, 3 at a stretch in there, but they are there. They're not crazy short ones or anything, just a lil heads up!

But thank you for all the positivity that you guys shower me with, it just warms my heart and makes me know that I'm doing something right with this story! Thanks you guys!

Disclaimers are boring.

ENJOY!

* * *

 **Heartbroken**

 **In my head**

 **One month timeskip**

 _Juvia found herself walking through the forest. She was barefoot as she stepped over the twigs and the leaves that lay around her feet, making sure she didn't get hurt. She was smiling as she enjoyed the sound of the tweeting birds around her. She basked in the sunlight that poured through the trees and she couldn't help but giggle to herself as to how serene nature really was. She felt so carefree._

" _Oi, you!"_

 _She jumped and turned around as she saw a man running through the trees and heading towards her. He had pulled her right out of her thoughts as her heart was racing from his voice cutting through so suddenly._

" _You need to get out of here, it's not safe! Don't you know that's where the dragon lives?!"_

 _He had an axe in his hand, signalling that he was some sort of wood chopper. He didn't even wait for Juvia to reply as he just ran away from her, into the opposite direction that she was going in. She guessed that that was the way into town. She watched as he got further and further away from her before she turned back around._

 _She shrugged her shoulders and ignored his warnings, carrying on with her journey. She was now curious. She had never seen a dragon before! What were they like? Did they eat humans? She knew that some dragons taught their nature to humans, would she be able to get taught by one?_

 _She carried on her journey, walking through the woods when she noticed something white tangled in the bushes. She raised an eyebrow and gingerly walked over to it. It looked like some sort of scarf. She reached out for it and she held it in her hands gently as she ran her hands over the material. It felt like silk, but looked like cotton. She smiled as she wrapped it slowly around her neck, enjoying the feel of the odd scarf. Why did it look like it had scales? And why was this scarf so familiar to her?_

 _She walked on once more until eventually, she got a clearing with a cave. Her jaw dropped. Something was telling her not to go in there, but she felt safe. There was a warm aura that was literally begging for her to come inside, how could she saw no? She had never been the curious type, she would have usually listened to that man's warnings, but not this time. Something within her had changed and it could either go smoothly or get her killed._

 _It was dark and Juvia just kept on walking in, not sure of where she was walking. She cursed when she stepped on something sharp and she instantly knew that she was bleeding. She hissed in slight pain. There were no plasters or bandages just lying around randomly._

" _What am I supposed to do about this?"_

" _Who's there?!"_

 _Juvia jumped when she heard the booming voice and she almost fell in shock. Suddenly, the cave was lit up and she looked up, noticing that there were torches leading down the cave and it all pointed to..._

 _A dragon._

 _Juvia gasped and gulped when she saw the huge reptile and she almost peed herself when she saw it coming towards her. Oh Kami, was this where she was going to die? Why hadn't she listened to that man when she had the chance to run back? What an idiot, well, it's her funeral._

 _The dragon stopped in front of her, staring. He didn't seem angry, not even in the slightest bit. His face was blank as if he was truly asking who was there, not like he was pissed off that she was here. That made her fear subside and she smiled._

" _I'm Juvia Lockser."_

" _Oh, well then, you alright Juvia? I can smell blood."_

 _She looked down and wiggled her toes. "Oh yeah, I cut myself on something sharp at the entrance of the cave. It was a little dark in here."_

 _She looked back up at him and noticed him staring at her long and hard. It made her uncomfortable as she twitched on the floor, wondering what his deal was._

" _Where did you get that scarf from?"_

 _Juvia was about to say she found it in the bush when it all came crashing down on her. She stood up in alarm, completely forgetting about the injury on her foot, and she ripped the scarf off of her as if it were on fire and she stared at it with wide eyes, not believing for a second what was going on here._

" _I-I'm Juvia Lockser of Fairy Tail, this scarf belongs to Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail, what am I doing with it?! This is a dream right? Yeah, right, it's all just a dream and Natsu is fine. It's okay, nothing to worry about at all."_

 _She was babbling to herself, forgetting the huge entity in front of her. She paused in her tracks and the dragon watched her with sad and disappointed eyes. She gulped and turned to face him, dropping her hands down, clutching at the scarf. This dragon, he seemed to know about this scarf. Something didn't sit well in her stomach at this point._

" _You...You're Igneel, aren't you?"_

 _It took him a while to reply, but he did eventually. "I am indeed, and for you to have that scarf means that End was finally brought back into this world."_

 _Juvia nodded as the tears rolled down her eyes. The huge dragon gently used his claw to wipe the tears away and Juvia gasped before staring up at him, a hint of recognition flittering through her eyes when he did the gesture._

" _It was...you. It was you that day, who set my stove on fire, who wiped away my tears when I was crying!"_

 _Igneel slowly nodded before beckoning for her to follow him. They trod down the hallway and into the main part of the cave, where Igneel truly resided. Igneel sat in front of her and gestured for her to take one a seat, and she sat down in front of him. His warmth was radiating and it felt exactly like Natsu. She sighed deeply when she thought about him._

" _So I see that it's you who has been destined to stop End. You're the only one who can bring Natsu back to us."_

" _But why is it me? Only up until a few weeks ago did I get to know Natsu. We were never really close before then and then boom, we started hanging out with each other! Is it fate? Or what?"_

 _Igneel shrugged. "I'm not quite sure myself, maybe because you're the closest one to Natsu right now, meaning you're the only person who can reach him. Natsu is still in there somewhere, he's just in the sunken place."_

 _Juvia nodded her head, remembering a time when Levy was babbling on about this psychological book that she had found. Juvia had heard every word, but she wasn't really listening. Now in this context, she understood what that meant for Natsu._

" _So why am I here then? Why am I having a dream about you?"_

" _Because I'm the one who's been trying to stop End from being resurrected. That and I have a duty to perform."_

 _Juvia stared up at him, confusion written on her face. Wasn't he dead? Was this just some sort of vision? Maybe this was real and she was no longer in Yato's house with the others. No, she ruled that thought out and decided to go with the vision story instead. It sounded more realistic, but she was confused as to why Igneel decided to appear to her when Natsu had been looking for him for almost 10 years of his life._

" _Because Natsu has now become End, it means he has rejected my magic that I've taught him and has opened up space for black magic. The fact that you have the scarf that I gave him is the sign."_

 _Juvia sighed. She was in her dreams, but she was developing a headache. "Igneel, you're talking in riddles, what does this all mean?"_

 _Igneel looked her dead in the eye and her breath got caught in her throat. She didn't like where this was going, and all of a sudden, she saw the answers hidden deep in his eyes. It was the way he was looking at her, the fact that she was with him here and the fact that she had Natsu's scarf that was given to him by Igneel himself._

" _No..." Juvia whispered out gently. Igneel nodded. She understood what he was trying to say, but he had to voice it anyway, just to make it sound official, to make it sound real. This showed how serious the situation was now._

 _She was suddenly surrounded by hot flames and it felt like she was being ripped and boiled as well as being torn apart from the heat. Oh KAMI these flames were hot! A silent scream ripped at her throat, the pain searing right through her heart as there was a churning feeling burning through her stomach. There were tears falling from her eyes but they were evaporating as soon as they left her tear ducts. The ferocious flames were eating away at her water supply and she had never felt so frightened in her life. Was her water magic going to evaporate too?_

 _As she was crumbling in pain, she felt an even sharper pain on her right arm and she could just about hear Igneel speaking over her torment. Oh Kami did she never want to go to hell. She couldn't handle these flames, she didn't know how she would ever handle hell's flames._

" _You're going to become the new fire dragon slayer."_

Juvia woke up with a start, her body hot and burning up as sweat dripped down her forehead. Happy sprung up with her, eyes wild as he looked left and right, wondering what the trouble was. When he saw nothing harming them, he relaxed and looked up at Juvia. He looked alarmed once more when he realised how hot he was just by lying next to her. He touched her arm and hissed in pain before his reflexes kicked in and he released her.

"Juvia, are you okay? You're burning up!"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine Happy, I'm fine. Just had a nightmare, that's all." She gave him a tired smile, hoping that he would buy it for now at the very least. She tested her water magic and a huge wave of relief washed over her when she realised that her original magic was still swimming around in her system. She used the water to regulate her body temperature to make it balanced and she knew that she was going to have a tough time making sure she didn't overheat or snuff out the flames within her.

The exceed curled up closer to her after he decided that he enjoyed the heat that she gave off as she lay back down and she appreciated his help. Shortly after she lay down, Happy was fast asleep once more. Juvia couldn't sleep, not after that revelation she had just had. Igneel had said that from now on, he was going to train her in her dreams, it was the only way that they could truly meet.

She put her hand up in the air and saw the image of a dragon spiralling up her right arm. She recalled feeling the sharp pain on her arm when she was being swallowed by the flames. It glowed red to show that it was now Igneel's magic running through her, despite also being a water mage. She wondered how her magic was now going to work if she had two opposing elements running through her body. Not like she cared right now, the only thing that was on her mind was getting Natsu back.

She clenched her hand into a fist and it was almost like she could hear a dragon roar when she did that. She smiled slightly before putting her hand back down and yawning. She still had about 3 more hours before she had to be up for her normal day's work. Now she was going to have to add fire training to her timetable too.

* * *

 **One week later**

"You've really come a long way, Happy."

Lily was panting as he was in his battle form, sparring against Happy who was also panting. He really wasn't lying when he said that he had come a long way. Happy too had also found his own transformation battle form, and he was able to utilize it just as well. His resolve, his will and his strength was what made him able to perform above standard.

He grinned at Lily and nodded his head. He had taken Juvia's advice from a month ago and was able to be light hearted again, almost like his usual self. When he transformed into his battle form, the cute exceed looked like a menace. Standing at the same height as Lily, he was equally as ripped. The green scarf that he had tied around his neck, turned into shorts when he transformed. His face looked far from what anyone would be used to.

His ears were set on fire and he had scales on his face, almost as if he were a dragon. Unlike Lily, there was no need for him to wield a sword he was fine with using his bare hands, as well as being able to perform spells using fire. It had been a shock to the two of them at the time, but it seemed to make sense as Happy had been with Natsu his whole life.

He wasn't really used to using the battle form, but he was quick to adapt to it and Lily had been training him ever since. The last 3 days had been brutal to Happy as he had never really trained a day in his life, when all of a sudden he now had to find a way to make sure that his magic reserves were forever growing and not just used for his wings now.

"Lily, Happy It's time to e-"

The two male exceeds turned around towards the door to find Carla staring at them with what seemed to be shock. Her jaw dropped when she was staring at Happy and she felt her face grow hot. No way was that Happy standing in front of her!

"W-what's going on here?"

She almost cursed herself when her voice came out in nothing but a hushed whisper. She averted her gaze towards the ground. Happy hadn't been his same annoying self this whole time and to be honest, she missed him. He threw himself into training with Lily and Juvia, that he stopped offering her fish. It just wasn't the same, and now she sees him in this form!

"I found my battle form, like Lily has."

Wow, even his voice was deep, as if he had become an adult and Carla gulped harshly. She had to keep her feelings in check here, she couldn't just let them run amok, especially at such a sensitive time.

"I'm guessing that you were going to tell us that we need to come and eat. Happy, I want you to try and stay in that form until you fall asleep. If you come out of it before then, that's fine too. It will exhaust your magic levels, but you will gain tolerance and end up building your magic stored so that you can stay in this form longer. You now have to start doing this every day."

The other male cat nodded his head and Carla turned on her heel quickly. Happy was just too hot to look at right now, and where she was usually a composed cat, she wasn't at this point. She didn't want any of them seeing that side of her.

She wasn't the only one who was surprised when they got to the dinner table. Everyone else in the house stared at Happy in shock, wondering when he had been able to unlock such magic. Gajeel grumbled something about annoyed that Salamander's cat was now copying his cat and couldn't get his own look.

Juvia didn't say anything as she just walked up to him and touched his ears. They were all silent as they watched her at with the flames. They all raised an eyebrow at her, wondering when on Earth she was able to play with flames like a fire mage.

"They feel just like Natsu-kun's..."

That was when Wendy noticed the tattoo on Juvia's arm. She had wondered why Juvia had suddenly resorted to wearing short sleeves, instead of all the long sleeve dresses she once wore.

"Juvia, what is that on your arm? And how are you playing with flames? I'm pretty sure Gajeel has smelt it too, but you smell like Natsu..."

Juvia sighed, as if she was waiting for this conversation to come up some time. She sat down in her seat as the butler spread the food out on the table. Yato sat at the head of the table, waiting for Juvia to explain herself.

"Igneel has chosen me as the next fire dragon slayer, until we get Natsu back. Don't interrupt, I'll explain now in full. It's been almost a week since Igneel himself gave me this magic. Because Natsu has been awakened to become End, he has rejected the magic that Igneel taught him, instead using the curse of End. Because of how close I am to Natsu in this situation Igneel came to me in a dream, telling me that he will teach me his magic. It would seem like he also bestowed the magic onto Happy as well."

Everyone nodded, the explanation making sense. "I'm glad that I can host you guys for your training. I hope you're all learning something from here too. It's not just Juvia who needs to understand what we're up against, but you guys do too."

"I've been in the library quite a bit. OI, WHAT YOU LAUGHING AT?"

Gajeel screamed at his best friend as she snickered from across the table. Juvia had put a hand over her mouth to stop the laughter from spilling out but it was just too funny to keep in.

"Gajeel-kun...in a library...it's just too much." Her laugh set Happy off, which set Wendy off, which set Lily off. Even Carla let out a few chuckles. Gajeel grumbled darkly at them before snapping off a good chunk of a metal spoon. Secretly, he was smiling inside, happy that he was the one who was able to get rid of this dark aura that surrounded everyone. Yeah, sure they were upset for the Salamander, but frowns and tears weren't gonna bring the guy back. They had to remain optimistic.

"So, Ameonna is now a dragon slayer. I think this calls for a three way dragon fight, don't you? I'd pretty much like to see what everyone's been up to, especially Juvia."

"Yeah, I train with Gajeel sometimes and then go off to go and do my own training, but we've never seen what you can do, Juvia. Even I'm curious to see what kind of tricks you've got up your sleeve. But um, how do you use both fire and water, doesn't it hurt?"

Juvia gave the younger dragon slayer a soft smile and shook her head. She raised her hand that had the tattoo of Igneel running down her arm before she clenched her fist. "No, Natsu would never hurt me...As much as I'm now the one wielding this power, this is only temporary. The moment we get Natsu back, the moment he'll get his magic back too."

Everyone nodded before Carla cleared her throat. "In fact, I wouldn't mind a little friendly fight with the two male cats myself. I know that I won't be able to keep up with the two of them, especially when Happy now has that form, but I too would like to showcase what I've learnt. Can't leave us in the dark here."

Happy and Lily glanced at one another before looking at the female cat and nodded their heads, a smirk upon their lips. "Sure thing, I haven't fought with other exceeds in a very long time now, I would like to go all out instead of having a friendly spar."

"I just can't wait to show you guys that I'm more than just a cute cat with wings."

Once again, everyone found themselves laughing and Yato sat back, a smile on his face. He wanted to tell them that he too had decided to take up his magical side, but he left it alone for now. This was their time to finally let loose and have fun with what they were doing, besides, it wasn't like his magic was going to aid them much in the long run, he was too weak, especially after not using it in so long.

"Well, I will say to give it some time after dinner then. Rest up for about an hour or so, I'm not having one of you guys puke all over the floor from a punch or something. That and it gives you some proper time to relax from the training that you all did. Better yet, why don't you all wait for tomorrow instead? Bright and early."

They all pondered over the older man's words and then shrugged. They might as well, they were all pretty tired from the training that they had all gone through that day, so it wouldn't kill them all to wait just one more night to have their fight against each other.

"Okay, well I'm stuffed anyway, I'll be in the games room if anyone needs me. Lily, you coming or hanging?"

"I think I'll hang with Happy for a bit, then I'll come and meet you later." Gajeel nodded his head and off he went. Wendy looked at Carla and noticed that her feline companion had not stopped looking at Happy all meal and when she caught Juvia's eye, they both tried their hardest not to laugh out loud at the obvious turn of tables.

"I'm heading into the library, Happy you're hanging with Lily right? I trust that you'll be careful with your magic resources, if you feel tired and dizzy, tell Lily so that he can get you to bed, okay?"

"I'll stay with the two of them as well, can't let Lily look after Happy himself."

Juvia's eyes flickered in a way that Carla didn't like and she knew that she had been caught out already. She blushed and looked down at her paws and she saw Wendy's shoulders quivering a little bit. When she was about to ask the sky dragon slayer what was wrong, she looked up and noticed that she was shaking in silent laughter. Her white fur burned a deep red, a shade that Natsu would have been extremely proud of and looked back down.

"Juvia, can I hang out with you please? I found a few books that look like they're based on healing, but I'll need you to translate them for me please."

"Sure, we can go right now! Let's get these plates in, shall we?"

For the first week, there had been a huge argument with Juvia, Wendy and the butlers. The butlers had told the girls that it was their job to take their plate from the table and to wash it for them, but the girls hadn't grown up being used to that, so every night, the four of them used to bump heads. Eventually, Yato was able to calm them down with the agreement that the girls will take the plates to the kitchen where the butlers will then clean the plates for them. They were reluctant, but the female mages finally agreed. Gajeel was happy with any arrangement, he didn't care much.

The girls dropped off their plates as they started heading towards the library together. Wendy looked up at Juvia and noticed how calm and mature her face looked. Juvia had always been this really crazy, loving and passionate girl who screamed that she loved Gray more times that she had taken in breaths to breathe. Wendy had actually come to admire Juvia's spirit, not laugh at it like the others had done whenever she had made a fool of herself. In that aspect, she was kind of like Natsu, able to pick herself up and dust herself off when something had gone horribly wrong, but at the same time, stand and fight for what she believed in. She wasn't actually afraid of anything.

Wendy then looked down at her own hands and hoped that she could be the same. Erza was every girl's idol, and she couldn't lie and say that she wasn't hers, but Wendy started giving more respect to Juvia, especially when she was the only one who stood by Natsu when the harsh words started flying around. Wendy had frowned at the words that they had called Natsu, but she hadn't done anything to rebuke them. She was ashamed of herself.

"Hey, stop beating yourself up and wishing you were me. I've got some flaws of my own too you know."

The younger girl gasped and looked up to see Juvia grinning down at her. She blushed a little bit and had the decency to look sheepish.

"Was I talking out loud?"

"Nope, but I can notice that facial expression from a mile away. I too wore that face for most part of my life, and more so when I joined Fairy Tail, believe it or not. Being from the enemy guild where I had kidnapped their nakama and then joining the said guild, it caused a rift between the guild members. Gajeel and I hated being the cause of that, me even more than Gajeel because I had a knack of being accepted anywhere because of the rain that followed me like a disciple. Laxus and his team hated me and I couldn't blame them. I found myself wanting to be many other people. Erza was the epitome of strength, beauty and excellence, who wouldn't want to be her?"

Wendy nodded, understanding completely where Juvia was coming from. "So it's not just me then, huh? I thought I was weird wanting to be like Erza, it sounds kind of stalkerish...Oops, sorry!"

Juvia burst out laughing and shook her head as she watched Wendy begin to pull out the books that she had seen but couldn't understand. She helped her with the others that were a bit too high on the shelf before they went and sat down at the table, spilling open the books in front of them.

"Don't worry, I know what I am and a stalker is one of them. But you're most definitely not the only one who wanted to be like Erza, but then I realised something. She's a human too, she doesn't have two heads, so why can't I be awesome too? There are some thing she can do that I can't do and things I can do that she can't do. Despite her amazing arsenal of re-equip, her sea empress armour will never be stronger than the hold I have over the waters. I can make it rain for Mavis' sake! And you? You're a sky dragon slayer, you can rule above in the skies. Everyone has flaws and strengths, even Titania herself. Besides, it's so painful to see her flirting with Jellal when it's obvious that they're both in love with each other, like why fight it?"

Juvia rolled her eyes with a smile on her face and Wendy laughed out loud when she heard that one. "What about you and Natsu? Was there anything between..." Wendy trailed off, wondering if she had said too much when she saw Juvia's facial expression pinch together.

"I know it's ironic coming from me, seeing as I fell in love with Gray at first sight, but with Natsu, it was just more than a physical attraction. I got to know him properly and like we trained together. When I first saw Gray, I just thought he was hot really."

They both burst out laughing once more before calming down. Wendy showed Juvia the first book and asked her to read out the contents page to see what would sound interesting to her. She rolled her eyes when the first book was a total dud, Grandeeney had already taught her everything she needed to know in that book. They moved onto the next one.

"Ooh, there's an interesting chapter about using the air around you and channeling it into your healing techniques, but it takes a lot of magic to be able to do it. There's pictures to accompany the spells, so I can just read it out to you."

The two girls set to work and wrote out all the steps that Wendy needed to be able to perform the spell. It was exhaustive for the both of them as Juvia was now reading words that she hadn't encountered before, but due to the context it was in, it was pretty simple to understand. She was getting excited because that she meant that soon enough, she was ready to read the book of E.N.D.

"Your translation skills are so good now Juvia, I'm impressed and happy for you!"

Juvia smiled a sad and soft smile. "I hope it's enough to be able to read all of the book of E.N.D. I spent two weeks with him and he's just engraved in my brain. Wendy, I hate being as weak as I was back there at the demon's guild, I hated it. That's why I have to get strong, to get him back."

Wendy hugged the older girl that she saw as her older sister and Juvia hugged her tightly, as if she was scared to lose another person. Tears threatened to spill out of her eyes when she thought about Natsu, but she had to stay strong, she just had to.

~x~

The six of them had all congregated in the main training room that could hold them all. The three exceeds and the three mages were all bursting with life, and buzzing with excitement, that they just couldn't wait till tomorrow to try and spar with each other, they all wanted to do it now!

"What are you guys doing?"

They all jumped and turned to the door and saw Yato standing there with his arms crossed over his chest and a stern expression on his face. Despite the man not really having any magic, he was a very frightening fellow and they really hated it when they got on his bad side.

"Uh...GAJEEL-KUN MADE US DO IT!"

"WHAAAAAT?!"

The iron dragon slayer roared out in anger as the mixed mage blamed it on him. She had panicked and blamed the easiest person to blame as it would definitely be something that Gajeel would have done. Yato's chilling eyes turned to focus on only Gajeel and he cursed in his mind, killing Juvia over and over again.

"I know it's not Gajeel who made this plan up, he always takes credit in his ideas."

It was Juvia's turn to curse mentally. She had forgotten that they had literally spent their last month in Yato's house and that he was surely going to pick up on the habits that they all have. Gajeel would happily say that it was him who told them all to do it, but when it wasn't him, he roared out the word 'what' as a way for you to change your stupid answer that would be getting him into trouble.

"Juvia, instead of lying, next time just come clean. Besides, you guys need a referee, you can't just start a spar without me being here! Now, get into tag teams. I want the exceeds to start first and then from there, whenever someone gets knocked out, their partner will take their place until last person standing, got it?"

They all smirked at each other in reply. Carla, Happy and Lily made their way to the middle, watching each other with calculating eyes. Their counterpart mages were silently watching, waiting to see who will deliver the first strike, and to whom.

Carla huffed. "Well, I guess it's time I show you just what _I've_ been up to then!"

Everyone apart from Wendy gasped. Juvia was surprised. "Wow, all the exceeds are now finding their battle forms, amazing!"

Wendy giggled and shook her head. "Oh, not a battle form."

The rest watched as Carla flew up into the air. She glanced at Happy before deciding to make Lily her target. "Max speed!"

She flew at him with high speed. Lily didn't know how else to react. She was Queen Shagotte's daughter alright, but he didn't know how much Carla had been training on her magic reserves, because her using max speed was too much for her.

Before anyone even knew what was happening, she soon turned into the transformation that she had been talking about. Gajeel screamed out, "she's a fucking human! With cat ears! She's a real cat girl!"

Juvia punched Gajeel. "Gajeel-kun, you need to watch your language, who the hell do you think you're swearing in front of?!"

The two male exceeds were too shocked to move and Carla smirked. "White moon!" She cartwheeled before landing a kick on Lily's head. Without even skipping a beat, she flipped backwards onto her hands, proving that she was extremely agile like a cat, despite not moving around like one in her actual default form. She spun on her hands before using her other leg to swing into Lily's side, sending him flying.

"Alright, go Carla!"

The said exceed smirked and put her thumbs up at Wendy before she too was sent flying. There was a gasp as they hadn't even seen the blue furball move.

"You can't be celebrating when there's another opponent."

Carla growled when she could hear the humour in Happy's voice. She mentally gulped when she noticed how devilishly handsome he now looked with the smirk on his face, and that was when he wasn't even in his battle form!

"Why don't you change your form and come and tell me that then?"

She smiled when he did before her two index fingers had white light on them. Lily at this point had had gotten up, and he too had changed his form. He stood at alert, not sure as to what it was that Carla now had planned for them both.

"Precognition: battle strategy."

Juvia looked at Wendy. "What kind of spell was that, I didn't even know she could perform any. I thought this would just be a battle form."

Wendy nodded with a proud smile. "Oh, it is, but you know how she can see visions? Well she realised that in this form, she can actually more or less see the future and she gets it more frequently. They're stronger and she can depict more of what will happen. When she categorizes her precognition, it means she doesn't get every feed from other types of visions that she could possibly get. Sure, it takes up a lot of her magic, but that means she's able to withstand a lot more in a fight if she knows what you're going to do."

Juvia nodded. "I'm impressed. I feel like even just after a month and already we're making progress."

Gajeel who was listening in on the conversation grinned evilly. "LILY, MAKE HER TIRED! THAT'S YOUR AIM!"

Wendy and Juvia's jaw dropped as their eyes went hollow when they heard Gajeel's voice from behind them. The audacity! How dare he?! Both the girls looked at each other and nodded their heads. When it was their turn to fight, they knew exactly what they had to do.

Lily nodded his head and flew right at her, sending a punch for her face. Carla didn't even show any scrap of emotion as she did a back bend out of the way. She then jumped out of the way as Happy came crashing into Lily. The older exceed blocked the kick that was aimed at his torso with Happy grinning.

"Hey, don't forget that I'm here!"

"That's right Happy, make sure that they include you in the fight!" It was Juvia's turn to cheer as she put her fist up in the air, almost like a proud overbearing mother, but she didn't care. She had seen him come a long way, and she would be damned if she didn't start cheering him on. She knew it was too early into the fight to start showing them all his little fire moves that he had picked up, but she really couldn't wait him for him to show everyone what he had learnt.

Happy smirked at Juvia's cheering before his hands lit up with fire, and the fire on his ears got bigger. He looked over at Carla and knew that the only way to get her out of the fight was to get her extremely tired. She was able to read their every move, but then again, being partnered with Natsu all his life, one learns to be spontaneous.

She looked over at him, as if she knew that he was staring at her and she seemed to blush lightly. Happy was taken aback and even felt a silly grin spring up on his face. It would seem as if Carla liked him in this form.

"Fire dragon, fist charge!"

Happy's stance looked like one of a boxer as he started his barrage of punch, jab, cross and hooks. He was getting a little frustrated that Carla was still able to keep up with his attacks, but he could see the fatigue settle into her eyes. She had agility and the power to read ahead, but without stamina and endurance, it was just useless.

He sensed Lily move behind him and they both ducked out of the way of a sword. Carla stumbled a little and that was all the two male exceeds needed. It was Happy who got to her first and he knew that she knew that he would as he kicked her in the back. She went flying in front of Wendy who gasped and made sure that she helped up her companion. Carla sighed and returned back to her default form. She smiled up at Wendy.

"I think I know what we need to work on next now."

Wendy giggled as they tagged each other with a high five. "You think? You're the one who was always saying I couldn't perform certain spells because it would make me tired, yet here you are, doing the same thing. We're going to work on that."

"And Carla is out! Wendy, you've been tagged in, would you like to join in?"

Wendy shook her head at Yato. "Exceeds on exceeds, dragon slayer on dragon slayers."

"I think you mean dragon slayer on dragon slayer and a half."

Juvia shot Gajeel an evil look as he just laughed his weird laugh, which made her roll her eyes. They all turned their attention to the last two exceeds and saw that Happy had punched his way through the sword, melting it.

"Fire dragon's spiralling punch!"

Happy punched forward and true to its name, there was a spiral of fire that came twisting out of his punch and Lily did everything he could to dodge it. He didn't exactly have the grace that Carla showed, but he had enough flexibility to weave his way out of it. He didn't have time to notice that Happy had introduced another spiral using his other hand, due to focusing on moving out of the way of the first one.

"Lily, look up!"

Gajeel's yell got his attention, but it was too late. He got hit in the chest, but due to his strength, it didn't knock him back as far as Happy would have liked for it to, but it was okay for now.

"I'll admit that you're strong, but don't forget, you're still around 100 years too early to try and defeat me!" He pulled out the hilt that had no sword and ran his hand over the space where a blade would have been.

"Buster reunion!"

There was a flash and all of a sudden, the sword was complete. It was an exact replica of the Bustermarm that Lily had owned in Edolas, only it was a regular sized sword. Happy narrowed his eyes. If Lily was skilled with a huge sword, he really didn't want to confrontational with him with a regular one.

Lily's speed was like nothing Happy had ever seen before and he soon realised that when they were training, Lily held a lot back and he hadn't even noticed exactly how much it is he holds back. He felt every blow, every hit of the sword as he tried his best to fend off the attacks. He was lucky in some places, but his flames weren't hot enough to melt the sword at all. That and Happy was now getting tired.

"I know you've got one last attack left in you Happy! Don't give up, show him what you've got left in you! Try your best!"

Happy gritted his teeth and mentally thanked Juvia for the little will he had left to keep going on. He knew that he wasn't going to win this spar, but he did have one last attack that he deemed his strongest one for now.

Lily sensed the difference within him and knew that there was going to be something big coming his way. He moved back and powered up his own attack to counter it. He knew that Happy would probably tag Juvia in after this, but it was a good little session.

"Buster bomb!"

"Fire dragon's devastating punch!"

The two launched themselves at each other and as Happy's fist came into contact with the Buster reunion, the two lacrimas glowed red before they each exploded. Juvia put up a shield of water over everyone else and Happy was thrown back from the recoil of his own punch, as well as the bomb. Lily was the first two stand up and looked relatively unharmed. He helped Happy up, who was now in his default form, before he walked over to Gajeel and tagged him in.

Happy limped over to Juvia in his default form, head down low. Juvia headed over to him and hugged him gently. He was surprised that she would do such a thing as he looked up at her. He saw a gentle smile on her face and it reassured him.

"That was an amazing fight Happy, I'm so proud of you and I know that Natsu would be too."

"But I didn't win. How will I be able to hold my own against Tartaros?"

"Happy, we still have over a month left, don't beat yourself up. For you to have come so far in just a month is amazing in itself! Trust me, you'll be able to hold your own, and do you even know how long you guys were fighting for? Pretty long! Now, rest up, it's my turn to fight."

Happy grinned and high fived Juvia into the fight where the other two dragon slayers were stood. She grinned at the both of them, feeling a buzz running through her veins. She bowed in respect to the both of them and they did the same thing back. She stood loosely, waiting for Yato to call it.

"FIGHT!"

Unlike the exceeds who had been waiting for each other to start attacking, all three of them came forward. Juvia suddenly heard a voice talking in her head, almost making her fall over in shock.

" _IGNEEL?"_

" _Yup, it's me!"_

" _How is this even possible? I'm pretty sure you never spoke to Natsu in his mind!"_

" _No, I didn't, but somehow, transferring over to you has let me do things that I wasn't able to do with Natsu. Grandeeney coming in at 2 o'clock with a left hook aiming at your temple and Metalicana coming in at 11o'clock with an iron sword."_

Juvia's face almost screwed up in confusion when she realised that Igneel had been talking about the two incoming attacks that were aimed for her. They could clearly sense that she was distracted due to Igneel himself interrupting in her mind. Her eyes widened and she used her water body to maneuver around them. Gajeel cursed, obviously forgetting that she still had her water magic.

Juvia thought quickly as the two of them were still pivoting on their feet to stop from bumping into each other. Juvia's speed was a lot faster than them as she landed on the floor and flipped into the air, successfully landing on Gajeel's shoulders. She used the momentum to then swing herself around his neck while locking her legs in place and flinging him into the younger dragon slayer.

The both of them shouted as they tumbled and Juvia landed back onto the floor. That should give her some time to talk things out with Igneel.

" _Is there a reason that you're interrupting my fight? Can't you see that I'm busy?"_

" _I can see that nitwit, why do I get the rude and impatient disciples?"_

Juvia laughed mentally as she sent random water slicers at her opponents to put them out of action for a while and keep her distance away.

" _I saw that you guys were fighting and i wanted to use this as the perfect time to put your training into motion."_

" _But I've only done a week of training, that won't be enough against two dragon slayers who have literally been just honing skills that they've had all their lives."_

Juvia could feel Igneel shaking his head as she put up her hands in front of her to block a kick from wendy who then flipped off of her hands.

"Sky dragon's wave wind!"

Juvia had never really fought with the young dragon slayer, so everything she did came as a surprise to her. She hadn't expected for a tornado to come flying at her by her just waving her hand. "GAH!" Juvia was thrown backwards where she heard Igneel tutting in her head.

" _You know, heat makes wind rise, right?"_

" _I'm not using the fire! I'm not good enough!"_

 _Igneel huffed. "Juvia, you have to train the fire side now. Who cares if you won't be good enough, we need to see how far you've come, isn't that what you told Happy? Or are you a hypocrite?"_

Juvia's eyes widened as she turned her head to see the blue exceed staring at her with hopeful eyes. He honestly looked like a little child, filled with so much innocence. He was doing all that he could to make sure that he got stronger to bring Natsu back, meanwhile she was scared. She was pep talking everyone else, but she couldn't bring herself to believe in it. No, she had to.

She clenched her right fist, the dragon on her arm lighting up before it started burning, to show that the fire was now running through her magic coils. She knew she was going to have to make this quick because although she had learnt to stop evaporating her water in her system, she wasn't great at it, only having done it for a week.

She ran and jumped into the air till her body was over the both of them. "Wings of love!" Juvia had found a way to make actual water wings sprout out from her back and she would flap them off in one motion, sending a huge water wave. Gajeel just about got out of it, but Wendy wasn't so lucky and was swept away.

"Iron dragon's club!"

The club went through her body before she moved out of the water and jumped up onto his arm. That irked him off as he retracted her arm to get her off, but it was too late, Juvia had gotten as close as she had needed to.

"Fire dragon's grip strike!"

Juvia grabbed onto his arm and punched him point blanc in the stomach with a fire fist that sent him flying. Juvia would have laughed at her brother, had it not been for the words that stopped her after.

"Sky dragon's crushing fang!"

Just as Juvia looked, she saw a blue haired girl fly right at her, leaving a whole pool of wind behind her. Juvia was getting ready to counter attack, but she heard Wendy call out another spell and knew that they really weren't here to play games today.

"Sky dragon's wing attack!"

Juvia didn't know how much time she would have left before that would hit her and she didn't think she was going to get away from the whirlwind fast enough. Instead, she swiped her feet at it, hoping that the fire would be enough to stop it somehow.

"Fire dragon's claw!"

The whirlwind suddenly rose, and Juvia remembered what Igneel had said about fire making wind rise and she grinned in triumph. Wendy uncharacteristically scowled before she was taken down by Gajeel. Juvia had to put a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing. Gajeel had literally grabbed her ankles and tugged on her legs, which made the girl even more annoyed.

"Iron dragon's kunai!"

Juvia swore as she dived for safety. Gajeel was known to have pinpoint accuracy with those things, and she wasn't really feeling up to getting hit with them. Although she had her water body, she had to make sure that she didn't really use it, unless she really had to. The more she used her water magic when she was in fire dragon slayer mode, the faster her magic was used up.

She hadn't realised that Gajeel's plan was actually to drive her forward, and when he saw an opportunity, he took it. Smirking widely, he drove his fist back. "Iron dragon's hard fist!"

His fist made connection with her gut as she was lifted off of the ground and thrown up into the air. Her eyes went blurry for a minute and she was sure that she coughed out blood because of how strong and dead on the punch was. She landed on the ground with a heavy thud, and she felt the urge to curl up and just _die_ there.

"Come on Juvia, one punch from Gajeel can't stop you!"

" _He's right you know, you can't let that attack get to you! Now come on, let's up the intensity on these two and show them who NOT to mess with!"_

Juvia groaned from Happy and Igneel's words. She was struggling to get up and Gajeel had long left her so that he could fight with Wendy who had joined back in the fight.

" _But I'll dry out if I do, my magic coil will be a mess."_

" _Then don't let it be a mess. You're the one who is in control of your body, of your magic. Both water and fire is no apart of you, and you can't let one magic get in the way of the other. Make them bond, make them work together. Show others around you that fire and water CAN mix, you hear me?"_

Juvia stood up tall and felt the power surge through her as his words hit home. Igneel smirked in his mind. Juvia and Natsu were very alike in terms of trying to get them motivated. They were more alike than they would ever admit or even know.

Juvia closed her eyes and let her water mingle in with the fire. She knew that she was definitely going to have to work on her water not evaporating in full depth, but for now, she was going to go wild with it.

She opened her eyes as they looked more reptile like. Another tattoo burned its way onto her left arm as there were deep and red flames that covered her wrist and went up her whole forearm. Because she was now so used to the flames, she didn't even notice as she smirked.

"I'M ALL FIRED UP!"

As soon as she said that, she turned her body into hot water, making the other two pause in what they were doing. Happy was shouting from the sidelines, knowing fully well that Juvia was about to do something crazy, he just didn't know what exactly.

"SIERRA!"

Gajeel and Wendy gasped and tried to get away from each other. If they were too close to one another, she would barrel into the both of them with hot and fast intensity, but if they were far away from each other, then she would be forced to either stop her attack or find just one of them to go after. That would give whoever was free enough time to attack just Juvia or the both of them.

That didn't stop Juvia as she did exactly what she wanted them to do. She grinned and called out another spell. "Fire dragon's roasting bath: explode!"

They were all familiar with Natsu's roasting bath spell, as it was similar to Juvia's sierra spell, only he engulfed himself in flames. They had however, not heard of the explosion part before, and before they knew what was happening, the heat around them got unbearable before out of nowhere, they were thrown backwards.

Juvia didn't even give them time to breathe. "Fire dragon's, mixed water nebula!"

The two helixes came out, one fire, one water as she sent two different ones towards her two different targets.

"Sky dragon's claw!"

Juvia looked up to see a battered Wendy above her and she quickly jumped backwards to avoid her foot, only to hear, "Karma demon: iron god sword!"

Juvia's eyes widened. She knew how destructive that spell was, and she also knew that Gajeel had worked on its speed, so that it came out faster than before. It was such a slow spell and it used to piss him off, because it was so powerful. She was right, the sword practically slammed on top of her before she had been able to see it fully materialize.

She pushed Wendy out of the way and grunted to where she had tried to move out of its path too, but she was still taken down. "Crimson lotus: exploding flame blade!"

In a circular motion, Juvia created a torrent of flames that was targeted at Gajeel. Juvia was getting tired and she wasn't sure if the other two were yet.

"First sky arrow, sky dragon's wing attack!"

Wendy had been grateful that Juvia had saved her, but that didn't mean that weren't still fighting.

"Fire dragon's mixed cyclone!"

The attacks all bounced off of each other before all three of them looked at one another. Juvia lit up her hands in fire, Gajeel hardened his fists and Wendy gulped, but had a strong front and raised her own fists with her sky magic. They went into a hand to hand combat mode with a barrage of punches, a flurry of kicks and some wild heatbutting from Gajeel.

"Okay, I've had enough of this shit! Time to end it!"

"Such foul language, Wendy, show him how it's done!"

"Not if Juvia shows him first!"

"Calm down...Gajeel will win this."

The three exceeds glared at each other before turning to their human counterparts, who were each powering up their attacks. Lily shook his head with a smile.

"It would seem that they've all had the same mindset, and that is to end the fight with dragon roars."

He was right, that was their plan. Their cheeks all puffed out as they all stood in a triangle before releasing.

"IRON/SKY/FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"

The magic colliding was blinding and the dragon slayers couldn't see who was down and who wasn't, until they all went down and got hit. The exceeds gasped and Yato shrugged his shoulders.

"It's a draw."

"WHAT?! Juvia CLEARLY won, she had the two of them ganging up on her the whole time!"

"I do believe you're quite mistaken, Yato-san. Gajeel laid very hits on his opponents and therefore, he won."

"Oh please, that brute didn't have the grace and the elegance in his attacks like my Wendy did."

"Guys, can you argue about this in the morning? I'm quite tired and I think so are they. None of them have actually moved since they fell down. I believe that they've all knocked themselves out and ironically, Wendy is the one who would usually heal you guys up. You're going to need to take them back to their rooms to rest up. Have a good night now."

The three replied back to his goodnight as they all nodded to one another and changed into the battle forms, while Carla turned into a human. They had enough magic left to do so, so that they could take the dragon slayers back to their rooms.

"Guess I'll see you guys in the morning, night."

"Night Happy."

He hoisted Juvia in his arms as he walked back to their room. Sure, she wasn't Natsu and he knew that she wasn't trying to be, but he couldn't help but feel proud of Juvia. He knew that Natsu would be proud of her too, for her to be able to step up in his place and try to get him home.

He laid her down gently on the bed and returned back to his default form when he felt a hand reach out for his paw. He almost jumped out of his skin and looked up at her and noticed how she was smiling softly.

"Thank you Happy, for believing in me."

It was then that Happy realised that Juvia hated using the fire side of her magic. " _She must feel like she's not worthy, or that I'm angry that she's taking Natsu's place or something."_

"No problem. Thanks for believing in me too. And being a good friend for Natsu when I couldn't be."

Juvia responded by bringing Happy into a gentle hug before passing back out. Happy went and got wet flannels to clean up the bruises on her face when he noticed the fire tattoo. " _Must be a sign of her strength."_

He covered her up before he went to his side of the bed and closed his eyes. He felt hope resonating through his bones for the new day.

* * *

"Why do you like to interrupt my dreams, huh? I'm not Natsu anymore, you can see that I'm back to my original state, End."

End was sat on a throne, looking extremely bored as he was in front of a creature that his human self had once known as 'father'. He rolled his eyes at the dragon's attempt of trying to bring him back to humanity, but he had lost his humanity over 400 years ago, the minute that he and his parents had been killed off by a dragon.

"I just like to talk, Natsu. What, you gotta admit it, these are the best dreams of your life."

End rolled his eyes once more and didn't even bother correcting him and saying that he is no longer Natsu. If Igneel still felt like deceiving himself and saying that this was Natsu, then he was going to let him. That way, it would cause more of a shock to the dragon when he starts purging the world from all the dumbass humans.

"Actually, the best dreams I have are when I plunge my teeth into a certain girl's neck. The taste of blood just rushing down my throat, I fucking love it. Her blood just tastes so perfect, like fire and water just mixing together. Whoever said fire and water can't mix was fucking wrong man, they're beautiful when you throw in some blood into. Shame I can't have such a thing in real life, huh? All these demons keep bringing me useless people to feed on and it's only good for the mean time!"

At first, Igneel thought that Natsu was being sarcastic and that he was alerting him that he knew of his little plan to change Juvia into a fire dragon slayer to hold his will, but his statement was filled with anger, as if he couldn't find the real girl.

" _And he's not gonna, not for a long while. I've still got stuff I need to teach her, and if she gets in a fight with Natsu in her state now, she's more than dead."_

"Well, that sounds like a you problem, so if anything, I'm off now. I've also seen the way you fling my scarf about, give it back if you don't want it, those are my precious scales you're flinging about!" Igneel was filled with mock anger, he wanted to give Juvia the scarf now that his magic was running through her and he knew that the girl was going to give it back to Natsu the moment he was no longer End.

"This is a stupid dream, I can't give you items in my dream from real life, can I? Bye."

He pushed Igneel out of his mind and sighed when he woke up in his room, alone. Why was it that mentally, he couldn't put the pieces together as to who this girl was? He wasn't able to see anything, the visions were just of him drinking her blood and it tasted _amazing._ Why couldn't he find himself a girl who tasted delicious to the core?

He looked at the chair where he had last seen the scarf and frowned when he didn't see it there anymore. Had Igneel really taken it, even though they were only in a dream state? He shook the thoughts out of his head and rolled his shoulders back. He wasn't going to dwell on why Igneel would suddenly want his scarf back, but it was a good sign to show that Igneel was finally accepting that Natsu was dead and gone, while End was here to stay.

He grinned darkly as he opened his bedroom door and started making his way downstairs, when he heard the screams of the humans from the dungeons. His breakfast was alive and kicking and he couldn't wait till it wouldn't be.

* * *

So, how was that? A good comeback after a while? I hope so!

So this was just a simple chapter to show just a small part of their training. I'm not going overboard and literally drawing up everyday for the next 3 months because that would just be boring.

Also, I mentioned here that Natsu died with his parents when a dragon raided their village. In Zeref's story, he says that Natsu died of an illness. I didn't know what to believe, but death by dragon sounds way cooler and the fact that he died with his parents as well. Even cuter.

But please don't forget to rate or hate, flames or floods! The next chapter IS ready, but I'll give you about a week or two to soak in this new chapter before I update to the next one lol. Gives me a chance to start up chapter 10 as well.

Lolita-chan


	9. The encounter

Hey, Dark Gothic Lolita here!

How are we all doing since my last update? I hope you're all well! I know that I am, free from exams and stuff! Just working my butt off this summer for some money, y'know? Anyway, as you can already see, this chapter is shorter than the last one which I apologize for, but I had a lot of content to write for that chapter haha.

I swear I reread this like 20 million times, but i'm pretty sure that I still made a few grammatical and spelling errors. I'm sorry in advance!

Disclaimers are boring

ENJOY!

* * *

 **Heartbroken**

 **The encounter**

"I have no idea why you guys think that being a dragon slayer is so cool, how can this be such a serious side effect? I had NO problems with public transport before, now look at me? I've been reduced to walking everywhere!"

A busty blue haired mage was doing nothing but complaining to her 5 other companions as they were walking. She wore white forearm warmers (like Sasuke and Ino did from their genin days), along with white boots. She had on a pair of dark blue shorts and a fancy navy blue vest top with gold buttons running down its left side. She tied her hair into a braid as it ran down to the middle of her back. With the dragon slayer magic coursing through her veins, her hair had grown freakishly long during their 2 month stay at Yato's.

The tallest of them all grumbled. "Juvia, would you _shut up_ for like 10 minutes so that we can all get into the guild without a stupid _buzzing_ noise in our ears?"

Juvia pouted at Gajeel, but otherwise didn't say anything else. They had finally finished their training, along with Juvia finally being able to understand everything in Mildian, even going as far as having conversations regularly with Yato. Juvia smiled at the thought of their progress.

"I hope Yato is okay. I know he wants to use himself as a decoy for when Tartaros realise that the magic has been restored into the book, but I want for him to be okay."

"I'm not sure if you've gotten used to the smell yet, but I was starting to smell magic around him. He must have not had the right magic training from when he was young to start learning the right magic, or he just cut himself off from it when he got older, like Mira did."

The youngest dragon slayer made a good point as Juvia did recall Yato starting to smell a little different, though it wasn't major, so she didn't notice it as much as she should have. Lily then spoke up.

"He and I were playing shogi one night and he explained how when he and Hades were growing up, Hades was always the well exalted one, the praised one. Hades was a genius, while he was below average. He was always getting compared to Hades, so because of that, he told everyone they were distant cousins, when in fact, they're actually twin brothers."

Everyone gasped in shock as the teddy bear looking exceed continued on. "I know, it surprised me too, but he explained that they're fraternal twins, hence why he could get away with saying that. They don't look alike. Anyway, Hades got the amazing magic, but Yato's was so sub par, so he threw himself into his studies rather than magic and became rich. He said that he realises how serious this situation is and he is going to have to start taking his magic seriously again."

Gajeel gave out a low whistle. "That's a lot to take in there. Anyway, let's a make a quick stop off at the market, I'm sure we all need to stock back up on food items. Either stuff's gone off, or we'll be going back to empty homes."

Everyone muttered in agreement. Gajeel pretty much still wore the same stuff as before, white trousers and a black top. It was more him, though he now wore a headband with the black feather that he once wore on the sleeve of his top.

Wendy looked pretty much the same, but more like a battle princess. She wore fingerless white gloves and a blue dress that she got Juvia to make for her. The dress was light and silky as her hair still stayed in the high ponytails that she had always worn them in. She had long white socks and black mary jane shoes finish it off.

"Okay, well, we should meet outside the guild together then when we drop off all of our things, say within the next hour? We need to go and see everyone!" Juvia couldn't wait to see the guild. It had been almost 3 months since they had last seen anyone else and it was time to come home and team up to battle Tartaros.

"Come on Happy, let's go!"

The exceed nodded and walked after her. "Let me guess, we're going to need fish?"

"And lots of it!"

Juvia laughed as she bumped into someone. She turned around to call out to see a man with white hair. She was about to call and say sorry when he turned his head slightly to look back at her and Juvia stopped dead. His purple eyes burned within her and she felt like she couldn't breathe anymore. He smirked at her and when Happy shook her, she blinked and he was gone.

"Juvia, you okay? Who was that? How did he disappear so quickly?"

Juvia felt her heart beating too quickly, she honestly felt like she was going to die. She hadn't expected to see him, she didn't even know he would look like that. He didn't feel the same anymore. His aura was gone completely. He wasn't human, he was an etherious now.

"He...he was no one, just a bit rude that I bumped into him, that's all."

Happy didn't look like he believed her at all and she knew that he was a lot smarter than everyone gave him credit for, but he also wasn't nosey and he didn't pry. He knew something was up the moment she froze, but she had seemed so scared that if she didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't going to force her to.

They carried on with their shopping, and Juvia just wanted to get home as soon as she possibly could. There was no way in hell that she was going to tell Happy that the person who had bumped into her, causing her to freak out was actually Natsu as End. She remembered that form very clearly, only he didn't have pale skin and horns. That was the transformation that Juvia had given him when they had their mission together. Juvia found it sick and twisted how this had all been foreshadowed.

~x~

Juvia had acted like normal, as if nothing bothered her, and thankfully, when she met up with the other two dragon slayers and their exceeds, they hadn't noticed that that the mixed mage was thrown off a bit by seeing Natsu in his End state.

"I can't wait to see the whole guild again! I missed them all so much and I can't wait to show them how much training we've done."

The rest all agreed with Wendy as they were buzzing and excited to get to the guild. They had been away for over 2 months, almost pushing it to the 3rd month. Juvia smiled at them all, still keeping in mind that soon enough, the book of End was going to refill on magic. They had to get it right first time because there was no telling what would really happen to Natsu if they got it all wrong.

They saw Fairy Tail looming over the horizon and Juvia's fears ebbed away. The whole guild was in there and there was no doubt in her mind that they had all been training like crazy too. All the S class mages were in there, Team Natsu was in there and the rest were equally as strong, each having their own strengths to back up each other's weaknesses. She wasn't going to have to fight alone.

She didn't realise when they had finally gotten to the door until Gajeel had turned around to them, grinning. Juvia raised an eyebrow, worried about his behaviour. It was like he was about to do something very Natsu like, like blow off the door or something...

"NO!"

Juvia was a bit too late to stop him, but luckily, Lily had known his partner well enough to know what he was about to do. He changed into his battle form and stopped the incoming attack that Gajeel had waiting for the door.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Juvia couldn't believe it.

"Gihihihi, wanted to shake things up to make up for the 2 and a half months that we haven't been here for."

"By doing what, making master hate us?!" Carla had voiced her own opinion and she was just as flabbergasted as Juvia was. Happy and Wendy tried their hardest to not snicker, but Lily, Juvia and Carla didn't find it amusing at all.

"If you want to make a big entrance, just yell or something, don't just bash in the door you idiot!"

Gajeel rolled his eyes and picked out his ear. "Fine, we'll do it your way then, whatever."

Juvia and Carla huffed at each other before they cringed as he slammed the door so hard, they all heard a crack. The whole chatter in the guild stopped dead as they turned to the door in nothing but absolute shock. Gajeel grinned wildly, happy to be hogging up all the attention as he drank in their surprised looks. He knew that the only person who would do such a thing was Natsu, so the whole guild must have been shocked.

"We're baaaaaack!"

Everyone roared with laughter as the team made their way forwards. Everyone rushed towards them, laughing and chatting, talking quickly about all their progress. The group laughed back, happy and delighted to be back after having gone away for over 2 months. Gajeel found himself talking with Levy, patting her head like he usually does while he ignored her two teammates. Wendy found Romeo and team Natsu as they were all making sure she was okay.

Juvia smiled softly, happy that everyone was okay. Even Happy fell into Lucy's arms once more. " _I don't really have anyone waiting for me."_

Suddenly, she felt a huge weight on her back as someone threw themselves at her. She almost squawked in shock as she heard a familiar giggle right in her ears and someone's hands wrapped around her chest, groping her from behind.

"Juviaaaa!"

"C-Cana! Please stop touching me like that!"

"Aww, but they're just so soooft!"

Juvia was bright red, she was sure of it. She heard another giggle and saw Lisanna coming up on the right hand side. "Cana, come on, let the poor girl go. You know she wanted the first person to do that to her sas Natsu, now you've ruined her dreams."

"Li-Lisanna!"

Cana cried out with laughter as she let the blue haired teen go. Juvia just wanted to bury herself alive there and then, so she hid her face in her hands. She was absolutely mortified by what had been said, and the more she thought about what Lisanna had said, the more she realised that it was true.

"Oooh, I see that you've changed up your style once more. What looks is this, Juvia 3.0?"

Juvia shrugged with a grin on her face, her blush finally dying down. "I call this the ready for battle look I guess."

Cana nudged Lisanna. "No third person speech, Juvia's really a changed woman now."

Lisanna smiled before they heard Juvia's name being called. The three of them turned around to see Master Makarov sitting on the bar with a smile on his face. Juvia noticed that his smile didn't quite reach his eyes, but he was happy that her team was back.

"I'll see you guys in a minute, looks like I need to talk to Master." The two girls nodded, seeing the same look that Juvia had seen as well and noted that it was probably a serious talk.

The short man hopped off of the bar and made his way to his office. He saw Laxus give him a look, but the old man shook his head, while Laxus nodded in understanding. It was a private conversation between the two of them.

They got to the office upstairs where Makarov walked to the other side of his desk to sit down, while he beckoned for Juvia to take a seat opposite him, which she did.

"First things first, it's good to have all 6 of you back, I'm glad you're all safe. How do you feel?"

Juvia nodded. "I feel ready. I've done all that I can and I know that the guild would have done all that they can as well."

Makarov smiled and nodded, happy with her reply. "And the translation of the book?"

"I am now a speaker of the Mildian language. The book however, has not recharged just yet, but I imagine that it would be any day soon now."

"Give me an update on everyone's training so far, I am yet to see your progress, but I want to know more on what everyone has done."

"Sure thing. First of all, let me start with the exceeds. Lily's strength is absolutely amazing and his magic reserves have gotten bigger, meaning that he can now last longer in his battle form. I would say roughly about 5 hours now. Carla has managed to learn transformation magic and instead of using a battle form, she can turn into a human. Her precognition is stronger in this form and she can form battle strategies."

Makarov nodded his head, extremely impressed with what he was hearing. Juvia continued. "Happy has come a long way. He too has found his own battle form and can use it for 5 hours. He uses fire magic, just like Natsu too."

Makarov blinked in shock, but otherwise didn't say anything. Juvia took it as a sign to keep talking. "I helped Wendy with a few Mildian healing books that we found and now she can literally heal using the air around her. She doesn't have to touch you anymore. She is amazing at using her dragon mode, she doesn't have to do it in a state of anger anymore. She has really blossomed.

"Gajeel is just...well Gajeel! He uses his iron shadow dragon mode a lot, and he is an extremely strong opponent when in that state. All in all, Gajeel is now wilder."

Makarov shivered and wanted to cry. As if Gajeel wasn't already wild in the first place. "And yourself? What about your training?"

"Erm, well, there have been a few tweaks to my magic. I mean, I'm now a fire dragon slayer. I CAN EXPLAIN!" She had seen the way the old master was ready to collapse at the news.

"Igneel came to me in a dream, having transferred the fire magic from within Natsu into me. This was because Natsu becoming End meant that he rejected the magic that he had taught him. He said that he sees some sort of potential in me and that I would be able to restore Natsu back to his true self."

There was silence in the room for a while as Juvia removed her forearm warmers. "I've learnt that that when I use my fire magic more and get stronger, more tattoos show up on my skin. This dragon one was the first one, the day I actually gained the magic. This fire one on my left was from the first time I went all out in a spar."

She put them back on and looked her master straight in the eye. Makarov could see that there was something bothering her, she looked like she was doing things half heartedly. "Speak what's on your mind, child."

Juvia sighed, knowing that you couldn't hide your troubled feelings from the old man. He had seen enough expressions to know that she was hiding something that was hurting her. "I saw him today. I saw End."

Makarov was taken aback as his eyes widened and he sat back in his seat, not really knowing what to say. Juvia sat there in silence, feeling a little load fall off of her shoulders. She wasn't hiding the piece of information from anyone now, she had at least told one other person.

"What did he do? Judging from how you said you saw End, I'm guessing he doesn't look like the Natsu we know?"

Juvia shook her head, almost close to tears. "No master, he looks very different. His hair is white and his eyes are black with purple blazing fire."

Makarov raised an eyebrow as if to question how she knew that was him, but Juvia continued explaining it anyway.

"When we went on a mission before, and in order to trick the bounty hunters, I used transformation magic to turn him into a demon. His skin was pale, white hair with horns on his head with black eyes and blazing purple fire. I saw that today, only he didn't have the pale skin and horns, but I bet that's something to do with his final form."

"He has a final form?"

Juvia nodded her head and pulled out one of the seals that she had. Pumping a small amount of her magic into it, the book of End was suddenly in front of her.

"Yes, his final form. I'm sure you know that the only way for us to get Natsu back is for me to read this book backwards, correct? Well now that I've read through it, I've also read about what really happens when the 3 months time limit is up."

Juvia sucked in a deep breath. "As you know, the book of End is powerless right now as it has taken its whole magic life force to unleash End. This actually means that End's full magical potential isn't with him. Essentially, he's at his weakest right now, but that in no way, shape or form means he is actually powerless."

Makarov as at a loss as he ran his hands through his grey hair. "So now would be the perfect time to start reading the book to get Natsu back, only we can't because we need to wait for the book's magic to be replenished. Zeref really thought this all through, didn't he."

Juvia nodded her head. "It only gets worse. I have to be at least within a 100 metre radius to be able to read the words out to him. There are also 3 specific words I need to say right at the end, but the book doesn't say it to me. I'm trying my hardest to find it, but it's proving difficult."

Makarov sighed. "It sounds like you've had a lot on your plate for the last two months, are you okay? I mean, I want my children to train, but I want you to have fun as well. You're all my children, I don't want you to stress out. Don't think you have to bear this all on your own."

Juvia nodded her head with a smile. "Thank you master."

"Now, I don't want you to start guild brawls or be just as destructive as Natsu! That fire magic is no joke!"

Juvia laughed her head off as she stood up, grabbing the book with her and placing it back in the seal. "Don't worry master, I have no intentions on doing so. Besides, I still have my water magic with me, I've learnt to combine the two of them."

She bowed to the older man before she took her leave. The noise of the guild made her feel at ease and she felt so relaxed. She walked down the stairs before being grabbed by Erza who literally shoved her into her side.

"Juvia! Where have you been, I hope you're not skipping out on your own celebration?"

Juvia shook her head, getting over her initial shock. "No, no! I've been speaking with master, I had to give him a report on the training that we've all done."

Erza nodded her head before she grinned again. "We should all spar some time! It would be good fun and practice as well. I want to see if my sea empress equip has reached your level again."

"I doubt that Titania, she got a booster in her magic levels. Oi Shrimp, where ya going?" Gajeel then went off with a grin as he saw Levy walking up to a table and Juvia shook her head with a fond smile. She knew that Gajeel liked the script mage, but he was trying his best to put up this bad boy act.

Juvia looked back at Erza, the girl she had really admired and still did now. "I find it an honour that you will like to spar with me."

Erza's eyebrows creased for a moment before she smiled with her eyes closed. "You were previously an S class mage for Phantom Lord, don't think that me fighting you is an acknowledgement for you suddenly being a good enough rival for me. You're strong all by yourself." Erza punched juvia's shoulder lightly and the water mage beamed.

"You're my little sister, Juvia. I want you to know that you're not alone, okay? You have a different role from us all in this matter, but we will be there to back you up every step of the way. We will get Natsu back."

Juvia sniffed in order to stop the tears running down her face, and instead, she fell into Erza's arms. Erza held her tight and stroked her head. Erza really did see Juvia as her younger sister, the girl was honestly so innocent sometimes. She was strong and she didn't even know it. Erza knew that Juvia had always looked up to her and tried so hard to be her, but she had to make it clear that Juvia is strong and that she doesn't need to compare herself to her.

They pulled away when they noticed that everyone around them was singing and laughing merrily. Both girls rolled their eyes with a smile, realising that they were now in the middle of a Fairy Tail bonanza and that things were going to get pretty crazy soon enough.

"Aww man, Cana's already finished all of today's barrels, I'm going to have to get some more!" Mira shot Cana an annoyed look and the girl just gave her a toothy grin. They hadn't stocked up on their usual party amount, and with a freak party happening, Cana had already finished all the drinks.

"For fuck sake, send the drunk to go and get some more, it's her fault it's all finished! You should just sit down and rest Mira."

Wakaba shook his head at his best friend's words. "No way Macao, if we send her to go and get the drinks, she'll drink them all before she even walks out of the doors of the suppliers! There's no winning!"

Juvia looked at Mira and realised that she did look a little more on the tired side, even though she tried to hide it from everyone. "I'll go, how many do we need? And where am I heading to?"

Mira brightened up at the help that she was receiving and nodded her head quickly. "It's called Booze galore and it's on the industrial road, where all the factories are. We don't need to pay, we send them money every month to cover for our drinks and we overpay them from month to month in case of a freak party. I'm going to need 50,000 to supply for tomorrow as well please. Thanks Juvia, you're a star. Take someone to help you out."

Juvia waved her hand with a blush. "No need, I'll get it done myself, I've got loads of magic seals to seal them all away. I don't want to pull anyone away from the guild, I'll be quick."

Erza frowned at the thought of Juvia going out there by herself. She got an eerie feeling something was going to happen to the girl, but she shrugged it off, not being one to be able to have psychic feelings. "Are you sure? I can come with you."

"I'm fine Erza, thank you for the help. If Happy asks, just tell him I'll be back soon."

Juvia herself had a feeling that she was going to see End again, and if there was one thing she didn't want, it was for anyone from the guild to see him. That was strictly between her and him. She especially didn't want Happy to see him again, because if they saw him twice in one day, Happy would definitely want his questions answered, and Juvia couldn't bring herself to do that for him.

It was still was a bit late out and the sky was more of an orange and purple haze, signalling that night was soon to fall. Mira had said that this place stayed open till late, closing at 1am most nights, and then 4am on a Friday and Saturday for the late partiers.

Juvia enjoyed the calm breeze as she made her way through the town. Markets were closing up their stalls and some people even waved to Juvia when they saw her. She smiled and waved back at everyone, occasionally helping the odd person whose stall wasn't packing up right. She turned down the road where all the factories in Magnolia were based and looked up at the names to try and fine booze galore.

She felt a presence behind her, but she didn't even bother turning around. She knew that by the time she did, she wouldn't see anyone there anyway, so she ignored the feeling of being watched, but kept her alert high. She wanted to make it look like she wasn't able to sense them, and then last minute try and find who it is.

" _I'm pretty sure you know who it is though."_

Sometimes, Juvia was really grateful that she and Igneel were able to communicate. He soothed her in times of trouble, and with his expertise and many years of fighting, he had nothing but wise words to say to her, even though they did butt heads a lot of the time too.

" _I do, I'm just a bit confused as to why he's out and about really. I would have thought Tartaros wouldn't have let him out of their sight. But I guess seeing as he's their leader, he can pretty much do whatever the hell he wants without being questioned."_

Juvia finally found the place and went inside. The man at the desk was sitting in a chair, heavy boots on his feet as he was leaned back with his feet on the counter. His eyes were closed as Juvia could literally hear the music that he was playing through his headphones from the door.

Juvia tapped him which made him squeak and he practically jumped 20 metres into the air. Both her and Igneel mentally snickered to one another, finding it absolutely hilarious. He ripped off his earphones and cleared his throat.

"H-hi. Sorry, I didn't see you there."

"It's okay, you were in your own world. I'm here for a Fairy Tail order. Freak party erupted and I'm here for tomorrow's order as well please."

"So you're looking for about 50,000 barrels then."

Juvia laughed. "It's crazy how you know, but yes, I need that amount please."

"Come with me, we can get that for you. Where's Mira, I know that she usually comes to collect it with Elfman. You didn't even bring a vehicle, did you?"

"Mira was looking a bit stressed out, so I said I'll do it and I don't need a vehicle. I use magic seals to seal everything away so that I can carry it on me."

" _That and you're now a dragon slayer so you would be throwing up all over the place."_

" _I really don't understand the correlation between being a dragon slayer and not being able to ride on a vehicle. You're going to have to explain it to me some time."_

"Magic, it really is a beautiful and helpful thing, when used right anyway. I'm glad Fairy Tail is a light guild. If you guys were a dark guild, I'm pretty sure there would be nothing left of Magnolia. I mean, a powerhouse like Natsu? If he were evil, we're all doomed. Anyway, I'll be back at the front, so take the 50,000 and meet me out there."

Juvia didn't say anything as he showed her the Fairy Tail stock. She thanked him and started sealing all that she needed. He was right about Natsu being a powerhouse. It was suddenly dawning on her that Natsu was already powerful when he was his normal human self. Him boosted with powers from Zeref that were so great that it rejected the dragon slayer side of him, it was maddening.

"Think of the devil and he shall appear."

Juvia didn't even stiffen as she turned around to face the very man who had been haunting her all day. His purple fire eyes burned right through her and his canines seemed longer than usual. He still looked like the same Natsu that she had come to fall in love with, but it wasn't him. For now.

"I would say that you're not surprised to see me, Ju-vi-a."

"My initial shock of seeing you earlier on today has died down. I knew that there was a reason why you would be in town. I thought it was just to spy on Fairy Tail, but after sensing you when I was walking down this road, I realised that I most probably have something you need."

His presence was stifling. Juvia had to put up a front to show that she wasn't afraid, but then she realised, why should she be? This was Natsu. A demon was being hosted in his body and she had the duty to get rid of him so that she could have her Natsu back.

He started walking towards her, and Juvia stood her ground. She didn't see it coming when he slammed her back into the shelves behind her and grabbed both of her wrists, pinning them above her head. Juvia gasped in pain and wanted to curl up.

She ignored the pain by gritting her teeth and sending a glare up to the one who did it to her. He wore an unreadable expression on his face, all signs of playfulness gone. His expression was blank and Juvia didn't know what to make of it.

"How could I forget that you're a water mage? You're the one that I've needed this whole time! I need a taste, to see if my cravings were right..."

Juvia had no idea what he was he talking about and suddenly felt his teeth sink into her neck. She gasped harshly and arched her back. There were no words to describe how _delightful_ it felt that he was sucking her blood.

End himself couldn't stop himself as the blood of the water mage was literally the sweetest thing he had ever had. He sucked harder, letting go of her wrists and one of his hands falling to the small of her back, bringing her closer to him. He growled lowly as if it wasn't enough, he needed to be _closer._

Juvia lifted up her hands, running it through End's hair until she heard Igneel screaming at her.

" _JUVIA, HE'S GOING TO KILL YOU!"_

Juvia's eyes snapped open as she ripped End right off of her. He growled in annoyance, moving forward again, but Juvia ducked out of the way so that he went tumbling into the shelves. She heard him grunt as he ripped the barrels out of his way and glared at her as he stood up. Juvia was panting laboriously as she stared up at him. How could she _enjoy_ the feel of him taking her blood?

"Don't stop me from feeding, Juvia. You won't like me when I'm mad."

"And you won't like _me_ when I'm mad either! How dare you use Natsu's body to drink my blood! You're sick and...and perverted! How is a demon perverted?!"

End smirked at her, wiping off the blood from his lips using his tongue. "I like the thrill of the chase, and I know that you enjoyed it too. I guess if I kill you now, I won't have any more of that sweet blood. Be grateful that you're of use to me."

Juvia was fuming. "Give me Natsu back."

End's smirk dropped as he glared darkly. "Natsu is gone forever, you have me to deal with."

Juvia smirked. "Tch, if that's what you think, believe that then. I'm going to get my Natsu back and you won't be able to stop me." She gave him a smug looked that screamed 'I know something you don't' and that pissed End off.

He grabbed her close to him and relished in the fact that she didn't even struggle. Maybe she knew it was futile, or maybe she was going to be his undoing. He looked deep into her dark blue eyes and saw no fear, but instead, he saw determination. His eyes softened as he felt something pull him back.

"Juve...I believe you'll get me back. I'm still here, fighting, but End is super strong."

Juvia blinked as she heard Natsu's voice fall out of his body. The pruple fire was gone and for a split second, Juvia was staring into the real Natsu's eyes. His hair flickered pink and it was almost like the guy she had come to like was suddenly standing in front of her again. Her face lit up showing hope that Natsu was indeed still in there, until he shook his head and the fire was back. He glared heavily down at her.

"What the fuck just happened? Don't answer that. Mark my words Juvia, I'm going to have you by my side one way or another."

He soon seeped away in the same fashion that he had done when they were going after the bounty hunters. Juvia took a deep breath before falling against the shelves for support. She felt so tired after that encounter and she had no idea what to do next. With the adrenaline of being on guard around End gone, she felt the pain in her neck. She rubbed her hands over it, the pain stopping and the blood gone. She moved her neck side to side before finishing up with all 50,000 barrels. She smiled to herself despite all that happened.

" _Natsu is still there."_

Juvia nodded her head, saying goodbye to the man at the desk and heading back towards her guild.

" _I would love to tell everyone that, but I don't want them to live in fear that End is the one who is dominant within him. They would all get hurt."_

Igneel hummed slightly before talking again. " _But we definitely need to work on your fire side a lot more. I am proud of how far you've come, but I'm going to have to use 2nd origin on your tonight. I'm glad he wasn't able to sense the fire in you, that will throw him off his game."_

Juvia nodded her head mentally. Ever since the spar back at Yato's house, Juvia had improved drastically on using her dragon slayer side efficiently. She could now last around 2 hours before her water would start evaporating from using the fire within her too much, but _it wasn't enough._ There was no telling how long the fight would take against Tatartos and she needed to be able to last longer than a measly two hours.

" _I also have something I want to give to you as well. For now, let's just go back to the guild and celebrate coming back."_

" _Hai."_

* * *

So how was that? Did you enjoy it? I really hope you did because I had fun and literally no struggle at all writing this chapter! In fact, I finished this chapter long before i finished chapter 8, mainly because I was stuck on writing the sparring scene with the exceeds. Other than that, this flowed like water to a river haha.

If you guys love Navia so much, don't forget to follow the community called **SPREAD THE NAVIA!** My good friend Lanvia started it up and I add on any Navia stories that I find floating around Fanfiction so that they're all in one place for you guys to read!

Please don't forget to rate or hate, flames or floods! Reviews make me warm too haha.

Lolita-love,

Lolita-chan


	10. The beginning of the end

Hey, Dark Gothic Lolita here!

*Speaking from behind a metal wall* So I'm aware that many of you would like to kill me and hey, I know of a few authors I would like to kill for not updating, but then that would make me a pretty big hypocrite. I apologize deeply for not being able to update any of my stories for probably over 5 months by now and all I ask for is your forgiveness. Please understand that I am in my final year of university so I have deadlines that I need to make. Writing is still a big part of my life because I can't seem to stop, but so is my education. I hope you all understand!

I basically took a hiatus. An unknown hiatus (but if you have me on tumblr and read what I post, you would have seen that I actually announced that I'm going on one.). I'm not saying I'm back for good, but I am here to say that even though I don't update for like a year, I am making sure that I'm writing multiple chapters to multiple stories so that I just pour out loads of updates for you to enjoy while I go into hiding again lol. This chapter particularly has been done for about 2 months, but I have been writing up chapter 11 so that I can bring that out as well. I'm also writing out chapters to older stories and I've even written 8 chapters to a new story that no one knows nothing about hehe.

So please forgive my abscence, but you all know the drill. Yadayadayada disclaimers and grammar.

ENJOY!

* * *

 **Heartbroken**

 **The beginning of the end**

Juvia finally got all the barrels back to the guild and everyone started cheering when she arrived. Cana grabbed her into her side and started singing loudly and obnoxiously. Juvia just blushed and smiled at everyone as she opened up all the seals. She saw Mira smile gratefully at her.

"Thank you, Juvia. You didn't really have to do this for us, I could have sent Elfman to go and get them."

Juvia shook her head. "It's fine, I wanted to do it anyway."

Juvia looked around the guild to watch everyone and her fear for them all rose. She knew that End was just after her and her blood, but he could easily use anyone to draw her out as bait. No one was really safe anymore and his powers were going to be coming back soon. She was the only one with the real power to seal End back, yet she still didn't know what the three words were.

"Oi, you okay?"

She looked up and saw Cana still staring at her. She forgot that Cana had wedged her into her side and she nodded her head at the card mage. She offered Juvia a drink, to which she declined and she shrugged her shoulders. She could sense the distress leaking right out of the water mage and tried to find the words to encourage her.

"We'll be fine. Let's just enjoy the night while we still can and then we can think about how we're going to get Natsu back."

Juvia sighed and looked down at her hands. "Is it really that obvious?"

"Well, he is on everyone's minds, so yeah, it is. That and the fact that I know how much you like him."

Juvia was waiting for some inappropriate comments and an eyebrow wiggle, but she never got it. Instead, Cana looked like she was quite serious about it. The intensity in her eyes was enough to make Juvia feel like she had done something wrong. Was she going to hate her for moving on from Gray so quickly? Was Cana going to berate her for it?

"What? No jokes or anything? No saying how fickle my heart is because it's only been almost 3 months since I moved on from Gray?"

Cana took a long swig of her drink and shook her head. "No, you were infatuated with Gray, not in love. With Natsu, you matured in your reason for love and I know that you two had way more in common than you and Gray. I know that you've been working your butt off to get Natsu back, I mean we all have, but you, you really like him. I wouldn't say it's love just yet, but it's a strong and _real_ attraction."

Juvia was kind of surprised that Cana had said such wise words, but she knew that sometimes she was like that. She wasn't just a drunk mage who was wild, but she was observant too. Juvia smiled in appreciation and shook her head, grabbing a drink. Cana's eyes glistened at the fact that she was going to have a drinking buddy.

"You know what, maybe I will have a drink!"

"Yay!"

The whole night went along well, with singing and fighting and kissing. Juvia smiled dreamily from it all as it finally died down. She looked over at Happy who looked like he had overdosed on fish and laughed fondly before saying her goodbyes to the mages who were still there and hadn't passed out just yet. Fairy Tail were party machines.

She grabbed up her feline friend and held him in her arms as he was in his food coma and she walked slowly back to her place. It was so nice of Yato to pay all their rent while they were away and out of jobs.

Bisca had left early with her family and they managed to drop Wendy home on their way too. Juvia put her head to the front door of the younger dragon slayer and smiled softly when she heard the soft snores of the girl.

She carried on walking to her apartment where she set Happy down in his makeshift bed and sighed. It had been such a long day and seeing End just wasn't something that was on her to do list to be honest. He had drained her, especially when he bit into her neck and started sucking on her blood.

She ran her hand over the mark where she had been bitten and closed her eyes, remembering the tingling sensation that ran through her body, almost as if she were made for him to drink her blood. She couldn't get the feel of his mouth off of her, the way he held her out of her mind.

Juvia groaned to herself as she got ready for bed. " _If it hadn't have been because of you, Igneel, not sure of I'll still be here."_

The fire dragon grumbled in her mind. " _Well now we know what he's doing out an about. He wants you, and I'm pretty sure that after that experience you both had, he's not gonna wanna let you go. He'll do all he can to get you by his side. Which means more training tonight."_

Juvia stomped her foot childishly before pouting and hopping into her bed. Training during the day was absolutely fine, she welcomed it in fact. Training at night in her dreams was another story. Igneel would come to her in her dreams and literally train her until the moment that she woke up. Just because it wasn't real life didn't excuse any levels of fatigue that she would feel either.

She heard Igneel burst out laughing in a sinister way, almost as if he were the enemy. She rolled her eyes and closed her eyes, ready for the sleep to drag her under and to meet Igneel for the training.

" _Geeze, you're finally here."_

 _Juvia scowled at him. "Sorry that I can't fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow!"_

 _Igneel rolled his eyes and waved his claws dismissively, grinning when he heard Juvia growl at his nonchalant motion. He then got serious and pointed at a box somewhere on his left hand side. Juvia's eyebrows wrinkled, wondering what it was he was pointing at. She was about to open her mouth when he cut her off._

" _I know you're going to ask me 'what is that?' so why don't you just go and find out for yourself?"_

 _She snapped her mouth shut and made her way quite quickly, over to the box. She pulled it open without a moment's hesitation, trusting that he wouldn't try and prank her at such an important time. She looked at the item inside and she gasped a little bit, her eyes wide and frozen._

 _Inside the box lay a white scaly scarf that she knew very well. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, but she held it well. She nodded her head, pulling it out and holding it so gingerly, almost as if it would break if she held it too tight._

" _The scarf you gave to Natsu..."_

" _He rejected it. Threw it off of himself. It's not like it would work with him anyway, he's rejected my magic so it's yours now. Keep it safe."_

 _Juvia nodded. "I will, do not worry."_

" _Good. Now, I think we were going to train?"_

 _Juvia was going to put the scarf around her neck when she stopped. That was Natsu's look, not hers. Besides, despite dressing like it was snowing everyday, Juvia found it too hot to be putting a scarf on and fighting with it. Instead, she tied it around her waist like the green sash that she had once worn during the grand magic games._

 _There was a spark of fire in her eyes as she stood in stance and Igneel knew she was going to get herself another tattoo tonight. He saw determination in her eyes that she lacked and he was happy to call her his student. That didn't mean that he didn't miss Natsu with whole heart, he was just happy that someone was going to be able to take care of Natsu the moment that the war was done. He wouldn't be returning to the inside of Natsu, his job was done._

" _I'm ready."_

 _~x~_

End sat in the throne room that Mard Geer once occupied. He sat with an elbow propped up and his hand under his chin, eyes radiating nothing but boredom. He heard the useless chatter of all the demons he shared the palace with, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

He needed some damn action in his life, people to kill! He couldn't wait for when he wiped out humanity and then smacked his brother out of existence too. He was the only demon strong enough to do so. But right now? He was empty. He felt nothing, not even being his sinister self. He was missing something.

" _Juvia."_

That's who he was missing. He knew that Natsu was overprotective of her, but Natsu was dead and he was here to stay. He needed her for a different purpose and that was her juicy, succulent blood. End closed his eyes just thinking about her blood and he suddenly came to one conclusion that made him sit up straight and forget his boredom. That managed to catch both Mard Geer and Kyouka's attention as they bowed deeply.

"My Lord, what is it?"

End chuckled. "Remember when Seilah said that Juvia would make a wonderful demon and then you said a play thing? I think I'm warming up to the idea of having her as a play thing. She's the only one who has the blood to satisfy me."

Mard Geer smirked. "So are we turning her into a demon, Lord End?"

End shook his head vigorously, almost as if he were horrified that he would even mention such a thing. "No way in _hell_ are we doing that. I need her to be in her human form, otherwise her blood gets tainted. I need her blood pure."

"Do you have a plan as to how we can get her to come with us? We can always have Seilah command her to follow us."

End snorted and shook his head once more, amusement lighting up in his eyes. "Nah, just a simple proposition note will make her come here. Threaten one of her little guildmates and she's like putty in my hands. These humans are so weak and their feelings are so stupid, it's so damn easy to get them to do what you want them to do."

Kyouka and Mard Geer nodded their heads before standing. "Lord, when do you think your full magic will be made access to you? You were talking of how we were waiting for you to gain your powers back and that was when we would have to attack."

"Soon I should think. It's 3 months after my unsealing that everything becomes available to me again, and it also notifies Zeref that the human, demon and dragon war is ready to take place. I've also been meaning to ask, where exactly is my book?"

He stared at the two in front of him, but Mard Geer turned to look at Kyouka instead. The female demon froze, and she could feel the fear settling in. How was she going to tell him that she forgot to get it off of Yato when he finished reading the book?

She cleared her throat, trying to buy some time before she replied, but it's not like that would have done her any good anyway.

"Uh, my Lord, the human male still has it."

End took a deep breath in, knowing fully well that she was going to say that before exhaling loudly and nodded his head.

"Thanks for that. It's fine, it's useless to him now, he's used up that book. I just wanted it back here to know where it is, but if it's with him, it's fine. Now, get out. I've got a letter to start writing to Fairy Tail's resident water mage."

The two demons of the nine gate nodded their heads and bowed deeply before quickly making their way out of the room before he changed his mind and decided to get angry at the fact that Yato had his book. They didn't know why he would need the book back anyway, and as long as it didn't get them punished, they didn't mind.

End rolled his eyes at them and their stupidity. That book was technically his lifeline in a way. There was something nagging him in the back of his mind, almost as if something bad was happening with that book right about now. No matter. The only way to kill him was to read the book in reverse by the person who didn't read the book to release him in the first place. That person was Yato and he was the last person who was able to read Mildian.

End smirked, feeling a whole lot better. Things were going his way. Juvia was soon to be his personal blood bank, no one was going to be able to kill him and soon his brother was going to be dead, along with all the humans. He couldn't ask for a better life.

* * *

It had only been a week before it happened. The guild was bustling with life as Erza was discussing something with Mira at the bar. Happy was in a conversation with Carla and it looked like everything was back to normal with them. Sometimes, Carla had a hard time believing that Happy had actually matured.

Juvia had been practising her magic in the back room in privacy, but she stayed close to the guild. She was showcasing what she could do to the master as he had finally decided he wanted to see her using the fire dragon slayer magic for himself. She was efficient and after having to train every night with Igneel, she was able to add more magic in.

"I know that Natsu was able to add in Laxus' element of lightning, but only after he had eaten the lightning. How is it that you're now able to mix it in with both fire _and_ water?" Makarov was indeed intrigued at the way Juvia had molded the magic in her own way. She was reaching heights that no one should be able to reach in such a short amount of time.

Juvia shrugged carelessly, showing him another tattoo that had yet again appeared on her body. This time, it was on her shoulder. There was a fire flame with a lightning bolt running right through it as there was a rain cloud above the symbols. Makarov nodded his head. The illustrations were almost like murals telling a prophecy. It showed that she had been able to merge the three magics together.

"It's not a form of magic that I would use often, but the option to use it is now there. Natsu ate Laxus' lightning and became a fire lightning dragon slayer temporarily. What if I told you that when I got attacked by the lacrima, back when Laxus attacked the guild, that my body unconsciously absorbed the magic and added it to my own stores?"

The old man raised an eyebrow. "How did you find out that you had the lightning stored within you?"

"I was training with Igneel one night and I panicked at something that he threw at me. I zapped it with lightning straight from my body. I do remember reading in one of Yato's books that water mages are able to mold and absorb magic to their needs. Lightning should however kill me, but where I triggered the lightning myself after having obtained the fire dragon slayer magic, the fire acts as a medium for me to cope with it. I mean, barely, but I can."

The master nodded his head in understanding. Water could reach temperatures that fire could, but not what lightning could reach. Fire can reach heat and light levels that lightning could reach, so all the three magics acted like stairs to reach one another, rather than jumping one step and killing her. Makarov was truly amazed.

"It's definitely not something that you can use though. I can see the strain that it has on your body and I am going to have to forbid you to use it. Until I know that your strength is on the same level as Gildarts where you can handle that sort of power surging through you, you are never to use it, do you understand me, my child?"

Makarov had to be extremely careful in a situation like this. It was almost as if he could see Juvia's body deteriorating now if she were to use such high levels of magic constantly. Despite her having a water body, it would all fall apart if there was a single spell that was to go wrong. That was the last thing he wanted for his child. He wasn't going to lose any of them before they lost him, that was the circle of life. The old died first before the young. He was not going to mourn over a child the same way they had once mourned over Lisanna's supposed death.

Juvia opened her mouth to try and argue, but she saw the stern look on her master's face, as well as hearing Igneel agree with a grunt before she decided to snap her mouth shut and nod her head. What good would it do anyway, when she couldn't really use it? She only knew one spell and it had left her almost paralysed for five good hours when she woke up from her dream training. She sighed before responding.

"Yes master."

"Good. Now, I'm hungry, let's...go..."

There was a gold light surrounding Juvia as violent winds started whipping around her. The girl herself looked scared as she looked up at her master in a mode of panic. Her hair and clothes flew about around her as she could barely breathe with all the air around her. She wanted to scream, but it wouldn't even permit her to do so. The wind roared in her ears so loud that if Igneel was talking to her, she would never know.

" _What's happening to me?!"_

The old man snapped into action as he made himself go into his titan form and start walking towards Juvia. If he were in his base form, he was sure to fly backwards. He heard the door to the basement fly open and everyone started running down the stairs, though that had proven difficult due to the high winds. It was only Happy who managed to scramble forwards before them all. His voice was muffled as he shouted out.

"What's going on?!"

The winds whipped around Juvia even faster, making Makarov unable to come any closer and help her. It was almost as if the power surrounding Juvia didn't want anyone coming near her and helping her out. The magic around her had a mind of its own.

Juvia started levitating and she could feel the energy coming from somewhere within her pockets. Before she knew what was happening, she was thrown against the wall where she groaned and held her back in pain. She stood up slowly, clicking her back as everyone ran towards her to help her up. They all spilled into the room, wondering what the hell was going on.

Juvia stared at the ground, wide eyed. She knew exactly what had just happened.

"Guys!"

That all caught their attention as she placed a hand on the pocket, not daring to get the object out of her pocket. She wasn't sure if it would alert the owner of the power behind it.

"The book of End...it's been energised."

Everyone in the guild was silent until they heard a quiet little 'oh shit' spill from Wakaba's lips. Juvia fell to her knees, knowing exactly what this meant. Everything that they had been training for, it was time to put it all to the test and fight for real. There was no doubt that End had felt all his powers be restored and she knew that his cravings for her blood would increase. Was she ready for that at all?

She lifted her head up and looked at everyone's faces individually. They were staring at her with determination in their eyes and with passion swirling in their hearts. She felt herself calm down. It was fine, could do this, no sweat. She wasn't alone and soon, neither will Natsu.

 **With End**

Meanwhile, at the same as Juvia being thrown back into the wall, End's head had snapped up at the same time. It was almost as if he could hear chains in the back of his mind unravelling themselves from his magic store. He heard them break and suddenly, he was in pain. That was odd, he never felt pain.

"NGGHHHHHYAAAA!"

He roared out and before he knew it, he was surrounded by the other members of Tartaros and they were staring at him in what seemed to be awe. He held the right temple of his head as the ringing sensation took its time to die down.

"Looks like I'm back to full power now."

He smirked and reached up to his head, his horns sitting royally on top. He noticed his skin had taken a paler look and he clenched his fists, feeling his curse run through his body. The purple fire that were his irises spun madly as he looked around at everyone. His craving for Juvia's blood was amplified and he could feel his need for destruction at its highest point. Natsu definitely had no chance in coming back. End was 100% here to stay.

He held his hand out and without any warning, 20 demons died on the spot as a black hole was created where their stomachs would have been. There were many screams of anguish in the air as everyone else turned to stare at them, fear running through their bodies, as well as awe shining in their eyes. This was their master. The time had come for what they were created for!

"The curse of the End. Nothing screams End more than a black hole, waiting to suck you in and drag into the dark where you will be ripped apart, limb by limb. The darkness surrounding you to the point where you're not sure if your consciousness is floating around aimlessly without a body, or if you're just _dead._ "

Everyone bowed down to him, acknowledging that his curse was indeed worthy to end their creator, his brother. He was the etherious for the job and they couldn't wait for his orders.

"My lord, when do we initiate this war?"

End smirked and licked his lips, thinking about the blood that was literally calling his name. He needed it now, there was no point in waiting for something that he was inevitably going to get anyway. Maybe it was the thrill of the chase that he wanted to go through. Either way, Juvia was his and nobody else's.

"Bright and early tomorrow morning of course. Everyone knows what they're doing, correct? Great, I have some other important matters to attend to. I'll be around, don't worry about that."

He vanished in a thick black smog and Mard Geer nodded his head to all the other demons in room and they all nodded back as they disappeared one by one, to attend to their stations.

 **With Zeref**

"Well, what do you know, it would seem like my brother has awoken his true self that I resurrected him to be. You know what that means, he will waste no time in trying to waste me. The only thing wrong with that is now, I don't feel like dying. I think that everyone else needs to go and I will start this world anew."

"A new world with no magic and eternal peace. My Lord, that sounds like the perfect world.

Zeref smiled when he heard the comment of his right hand man, Invel. He had been waiting for so long to die, for his own brother to end his life, but he had grown to see that he wasn't the problem. Everyone else was the problem. Their close mindedness pissed him off and he was going to ruin them all. The only trouble was, he still had all the demons that he made, hellbent on trying to kill him and he didn't have any of their books to seal them away. No worries, they'll all go to war together.

 **With Juvia**

Juvia sat at her window, watching the night sky with all the stars shining bright. She missed Natsu so much, especially as he was the only one who understood what she was feeling. She had gotten over Gray completely and while she had no right in saying that she was slowly falling in love with Natsu, she knew that distance makes the heart grow fonder. It had been nearly 3 months since she had seen the goofy Natsu that was able to make her smile after so long.

She sighed deeply and peered down at the tattoos on her arms. The signs to show how far she had come and how strong she had gotten was staring at her right in the face, yet she felt so afraid of what tomorrow would bring. With End gaining back his full strength, she didn't even know what his curse controlled and how it would work.

" _You have GOT to stop doubting yourself."_

Juvia smiled a little bit when she heard Igneel's voice in her mind. It was nice having someone from Natsu's past talk to her about Natsu as well. He filled in on all the gaps that Natsu never spoke about, or the ones people didn't know of. All Natsu's habits and pet peeves, Igneel knew them all, hence why Juvia found herself liking his personality more and more.

" _I will."_

Igneel grunted with content before they both felt an unwelcome presence in the room before it was gone again. There was no doubt that it was End. Juvia saw a piece of paper floating down towards the ground, but she swiped at it before it could even do so.

Juvia, you've got something important that I need and I think you know exactly what it is. As you know, the war is going to start tomorrow and if you don't want me to come and down and massacre your whole guild and the rest of the human race myself, you'll come straight to my guild by 12pm.

End.

Juvia took a deep breath in and out. She could hear End now, chuckling and all she wanted to do was knock him out. This, however, was a perfect opportunity. She knew that in order to read the book backwards to him, she was going to need to be within a 100 metre range of him and what better distance could she be from him than in his own house?

" _It's risky, but it's the only thing that we can do. He will end up destroying Fairy Tail, and that is the last thing we want for him to do."_

Juvia listened to Igneel's words and sighed. End now had his full power back, so whatever threat he was making was actually a promise and End knew that she knew that.

" _Do you think he'll be able to sense the book in my possession?"_

There was a moment of silence as Igneel was trying to work out the answer to that question, but he shook his head internally.

" _No, because he should have felt it as he came by to drop off that note for you. Unless part of Natsu is still taking a hold of him and he's not taking his surroundings into account, and rather than sensing the book, he just left. If that's the case, I would say you can't take the book."_

Juvia scrunched the note in her hand and made her way over to her bed.

" _That's a shame. Just as well I've learnt the book word for word, inside and out then."_

* * *

Ooooooh, there you go! How was that? Was it good enough as a comeback chapter? Hope so! I'm well aware that this is one of my shorter chapters, but trust me, the next chapter is a good long one. Sort of. Whatever lol. This was just a little filler for the real deal for later.

I did have the next chapter all ready for you guys, but I had a little boost and inspiration on bow to make my fight scene longer and better! Hang tight for me guys!

Please don't forget to rate or hate, flames or floods! I love you guys!

Lolita-chan


	11. Just three words

Hey, Dark Gothic Lolita here!

I brought out the next chapter as soon as I could and I bet you guys are extremely happy! I know that I am! It was a challenging chapter to write, but it wasn't that bad to be honest. I knew where I wanted to go with this and here we are! Coming close to the end of the story now, but fear not, I have a bunch of other stories that are in desperate need of updating, you guys can still see me there!

Disclaimers are boring.

ENJOY!

* * *

 **Heartbroken**

 **Just three words**

All of the other guilds had been alerted of the impending war that was going to take place with the demons. Everyone had gotten the substantial amount of rest that they needed and they were stationed all over the country. They weren't clear on the part that Zeref was going to play and who the dragon King was, but they were going to all try to be as ready as they possibly could for it.

"Where's Happy and Juvia?"

Wendy's words sunk into everyone's heads as they were looking around, whispering to one another. There's no way that she could have overslept, right? Or even worse, try to go ahead of everyone else. The noise started getting louder and Erza coughed to get their attention, silencing them all.

"She'll be here, I have no doubt about it."

The door slammed open and they all released the air that they had been holding and were ready to scream at the female mage for making them panic, only for them to see a distraught Happy fly into the guild.

"Is Juvia here?! Why didn't she wake me up?!"

Everyone paled as Lily stepped towards his fellow feline friend.

"Happy, Juvia isn't here," he spoke slowly so that it would sink in his head. "We were hoping that Juvia was going to be with you and that you guys were just going to take your time to come to the guild."

By this point, there were tears in Happy's eyes. He was stressed out about the whole situation. First, Natsu had been turned into this demon, and now Juvia was missing. He didn't know how or why he thought about it, but it definitely had something to do with that figure. The one from the market that Juvia had bumped into. Juvia definitely knew him from somewhere...

"END! END HAS JUVIA!"

Everyone paused and Erza shook her head. "That's kind of a big statement, Happy. How would End have her when we would have heard any signs of struggling? On top of that, you were in the same apartment as her last night, I'm sure you would have felt his presence or heard her screaming."

Happy shook his head, thinking about the situation even more. He had spent three months with Juvia to know what sort of ideas she had going on in her head. Behind closed doors, she was a _very_ different person to her usual stalker self. Her mind was over imaginative for a reason. She was always planning. She had probably the best strategies you could ever think of and even Gajeel admitted that she was the reason as to why element four was so successful in everything they did. Her mind just worked too fast for her own good and she thought of different scenarios when one answer wasn't good enough for her.

"No, I'm sure it was End. We bumped into someone at the market on our way back last week and Juvia paled, almost as if she knew the man. He wore a cloak and he had murderous intent leaking right out of him. Even I was paralysed with fear. Juvia tried to play it off as nothing, but I knew that he wasn't a regular that we always saw around here, even though we hadn't been here for almost three months. Juvia was a little shaken last week from bringing back the barrels and this morning, it was almost as if I could feel the remaining traces of the same murderous intent I felt last night. End came for Juvia, and knowing Juvia, she quietly left because she plans on reading the book."

No one spoke and it was so silent that Happy swore to Kami that no one was breathing. Lucy stood up from where she was sitting, gaining everyone's attention as she held her keys close to her body. Their eyes all turned to her as it looked like she had something to say.

"Then all we can do is do our part to support Juvia from here. We need to make sure that the enemy has retreated by the time she brings Natsu back here to the guild with us."

Everyone started clapping and Makarov spoke up.

"Lucy's right! Juvia has held a massive amount of guilt on her shoulders and it's weighing her down. There's no way that we can make her carry that alone. We have to let her know that what she is doing is the right thing, despite how dangerous it really is. I will have a standby team that when I give the signal, you will have to go and help her-"

"That will be us."

Gajeel stood tall, arms crossed as Wendy stood next to him with a hand on her hip, her face straight. The three exceeds stood in front of them as their resolve was strong. Makarov couldn't even tell them otherwise, because they were actually the perfect team to send forward. The exceeds had their battle forms and they were a good unit, probably one of the best units right now.

"We'll be the ones to go and assist onee-chan in everything that she's doing, don't worry master, we've got this."

Makarov nodded his head at Wendy, noticing how close they had become that they were now referring to each other as siblings. It was a warming sight.

"Well, I feel like I'm the one who needs to get this battle underway then, don't you?"

They all heard a strange voice and turned on high guard, looking at the figure at the door. Juvia's team smile gently. Wendy beamed, calling out to the man first.

"Yato! What are you doing here?!"

They ran to him and he grinned back at them. They could now see that he had a very similar look to Hades and he even started to smell more like him. The team deduced that although he said he didn't use magic, he most probably used transformation magic in order to not draw attention to himself.

"I'm using myself as decoy. I've had to fast track my training, and while I'm not at the same level as my brother, I'm definitely not far behind. I will make the demons think that I'm the one with the book, so that that way, I'll be taking a good majority of the demons out of the fight. As we know, Zeref is involved with this battle as well and he will be bringing the Alvarez Kingdom."

Makarov panicked as he cried out. "WHAT?! What business do they have with us?" It was basic knowledge with the older generations that Alvarez and Ishgar didn't get along and that they had had their wars in the past. He didn't know why it would be now after years of silence that they would want to go to war again.

Yato looked over at Makarov with a grave look. "I'm sure you're aware of Emperor Spriggan, their current leader?" Makarov nodded his head, wondering what the man could possibly be planning. Ever since this 'Emperor Spriggan' had taken over, Alvarez had gone very quiet and it was disheartening. They didn't know what they would be planning.

Yato sighed and rolled his shoulders, almost as if stalling from telling him the information. "It turns out that Emperor Spriggan is Zeref."

Utter silence as Makarov's jaw dropped and Mavis gasped. He didn't know how all the other guild masters were going to cope with this information, because honestly, his heart just failed. Yato nodded and breathed in deeply.

"As for me, I shall introduce myself. My name is Yato, and I am the one who put out the ad for the book of End to be safely transported to my brother's house. My brother is Hades and yes, while I know that he turned the wrong way in magic, I am not like him in any way. You may not believe me, but I took my time off from magic. My brother was the prodigy and that's why he was the 2nd master of Fairy Tail. I was a failure, so I decided to dabble in business. That doesn't mean that I lacked in my knowledge of Zeref, in fact, I constantly read up on him everyday, making sure I was up to date with everything.

"I am the only one who is able to read the Mildian language and due to one of the demon's curse, I unfortunately read the book to unleash End. The only way for Natsu to come back to us if if someone who knows the Mildian language can read the book backwards, but it can't be the person who unleashed him. That's where Juvia comes in. The demons don't know that I've taught Juvia the Mildian language, so they'll think that I'm the only with the book, meanwhile, Juvia knows that book word for word and doesn't even need to read it. The demons will come after me, while the person who will finish them all is in their guild right now."

Mavis looked at the mage. "I didn't know that he had a brother. He never mentioned you."

Yato laughed. "I'm not even surprised at that."

Yato then turned to Makarov. "I'm not here to try and butt in and run things, but I suggest that the backup team goes straight to Juvia. This way, it won't seem suspicious that anyone hasn't gone to look for Juvia and the demons might see what's going on. They know that Juvia and I know each other, there are some bright demons within them. Besides, I don't want her left alone with End."

Makarov nodded, taking the advice and mulling it over. "I suppose you're right, they'll soon realise that you taught Juvia the Mildian language and try to do something that I don't even want to think about right now."

There was a beeping noise in the air and Warren gasped as everyone turned to face him. He had lost all colour in his face and gulped down a huge amount of saliva to keep his throat moist and not dry. He looked straight down and the people around him started panicking as they stared at the device in his hands.

"They're here already! I don't know why the device didn't alert me when they were getting closer, because now, they're above our heads!"

Mavis gritted her teeth as many people were shouting the words, 'what' over and over again. Gajeel grinned sadistically and nodded down to Wendy, who gave him a slight smile and nodded back.

"Well, looks like we're gonna have to clear a little way for ourselves in order to get through them and head down to Tartaros. Just know that Tartaros use curses, not magic. Dunno what the difference is and I don't care about the difference, but they're demons. As long as they're not regenerated, they'll be mortally injured and useless. Wendy, cats, let's go!"

Just as they were about to run out, Levy called out to them. Gajeel stopped and turned around as he caught the solid script with the word 'iron' on it. She nodded her head and he grinned at her.

"Come back to us."

"Gihihihihi, I plan on it, shrimp."

Wendy sucked in a deep breath and burst through the doors of the guild, launching herself straight up into the sky. Everyone gasped as they ran out to see what was going to happen.

Erza ran to the front, fear in her eyes as she stared at Gajeel. "WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING?"

Gajeel growled as well, but for a different reason. "HEY, THAT'S NOT FAIR, YOU'RE GONNA BEAT ME! Gotta go guys, Lily, let's fly!"

Carla shook her head and gently smiled up at Erza. "Trust me, when you train with Juvia, you learn that just when you thought you were at your strongest, you find out something new about yourself. Wendy? She can make her own wings and she is stronger than ever before, so have no fear. Happy, let's go and get Juvia!"

Happy nodded his head and they started running on the ground. While the other three were going to take to the skies and smack down some ships, they were going to run straight ahead with Yato. Gray shook his head.

"Guess we wait for the opening."

"This wasn't part of my calculations at all, but you know, it's going way better than I expected." The first had stepped to the front with Makarov as they watched Wendy rush the west wing of the enemies' platoon as they could all see people falling out of the ships. Soon she carried on and they saw her land on the ground to continue running with the other three. Gajeel took down and even more substantial amount of everyone shivered.

"I can imagine the look on his face now. The look of the devil." Jet was quick to commentate before orders were yelled out by the first.

"What are we waiting for?! GO, GO GO!"

~x~

Juvia sat in her cell with her eyes closed. She had chains on her wrists and she knew that they were the anti magic ones. They were lucky that they put that on her, otherwise she would have fried every single idiot demon in the guild. She thought back to when she had first arrived to their guild and it gave her flashbacks of the day End was released.

" _What the hell are you doing here? Trying to fight us all, one by one?"_

 _Juvia kept silent as she just continued to stare, which irked the demons even more. She smirked inwardly after getting the reaction she wanted and waited a while before she spoke._

" _End called me here. We have things to discuss. Tell him I'm here or I blow your head off."_

 _The demon guards standing in front of her weren't any of the 9 demon gates, so she knew that she could easily take them all down. In fact, she could probably take down the whole guild, minus the 9 demon gates and End and probably still have enough stamina for the next 10 hours. Igneel scoffed at their power level too._

" _What was that, you fucking stupid human?!"_

 _The guards were mad now and they nodded to one another, to show that they were going to attack her. One of them lunged at her, his eyes wide and full of anger. "Now, you die!"_

 _Juvia sighed and didn't even change her stance. As soon as the demon got close, Juvia lifted up her left hand and let out some heat, which in turn, caused for the demon's head to blow off. The other guard almost screamed when he watched the body of his guildmate drop to the floor right in front of the female mage, who honestly didn't look like she was here to play._

" _Y-you...YOU BITCH!"_

 _Juvia closed her eyes when she saw that he too was going to attack. She didn't really want to kill the them, but she remembered that they're not human anyway and that if his partner was smart, he could still get him revived down in their lab. That and the fact that they were made by Zeref anyway, if the dark mage really wanted to, he could terminate their lives because they're so basic._

 _Juvia could sense a strong presence nearby, hence why she closed her eyes. They were definitely one of the 9 demons and End probably already told them that she was going to be stopping by._

" _She will kill you, just like she did to the other one."_

 _The voice seemed to stop the demon in his tracks and Juvia cringed internally at the voice that she hated so much. She didn't even need to open to her eyes to know that the one in front of them was Seilah. She was one demon that Juvia could not stand._

" _She said that she was here to speak to End, didn't it occur to you that maybe End invited her? Imagine if Master End found out that you tried to attack his guest?"_

 _The demon shook and juvia could hear the quiver in his voice as he tried to beg Seilah that she won't tell their master. He was coming up with excuses to same himself, such as the fact that he didn't believe her, so he didn't know._

 _Seilah sighed. "It's okay, I won't tell him."_

 _The demon let out a breath of relief. "Because he was the one who sent me out here in the first place."_

 _Juvia could hear footsteps coming her way and opened her eyes to see Seilah coming towards her with handcuffs in her hands. Silently, Juvia held out both her hands so that Seilah could bind them together. They then walked past the shaking demon as he had sunk to his knees, next to the headless body of his partner, mumbling words to himself, tears rolling down his face._

 _Juvia actually felt sorry for him. Their master was going to kill him._

With the power of a dragon slayer in her body, Juvia was able to smell when End got close to her and when he wasn't. She had to wait three hours before she could smell him in her 100 meter range. Without a moment's hesitation, she started chanting the book of E.N.D. backwards. She had been waiting for this moment and the window of opportunity had finally opened up for her. She made sure that she was quiet so that she didn't draw any attention to herself.

It was obvious that if he was within the 100 meter range, that he was going to come for her. She had to chant it as fast as possible to make sure she got to a good spot to stop. While the book of E.N.D. wasn't a long one, she had different time frames where she was allowed to pause and continue reading the book before she would have to start it all over again because the spell would have stopped working.

It had taken 5 minutes before she actually got to see End, which meant that he had been sidetracked by something else. She had never been more grateful for a demon a day in her life. She had gotten far enough into the book and she had a timeframe of 2 hours.

"Juvia."

She finally opened her eyes and looked at the person who stood in front of the gate. She would have blushed at the fact that Natsu was stood in front of her, but the intruder in his body disgusted the hell out of her.

She stayed silent as she just looked at him and he sighed. "I heard that you were being a little mute, didn't think it would be true. So what, you're not even going to talk to me?"

Juvia knew that he was trying to get a reaction out of her and that if she bit, she was going to lose the little game that he was playing with her. She just kept staring at him and she could feel his anger levels rising up. She wanted to smirk, she really did. It would seem as if he was the one losing his temper now.

Before she knew what was happening, the cell door was ripped open without the use of a key and he grabbed her by her bicep. She winced in pain as his claws dug into her and he spun her body around. Her heart was pounding quickly and she could hear his pounding as well.

"I don't think it's wise of you to ignore me, Juvia. I'm not in the best of moods right now."

He tilted her neck to the side and brushed away any loose hair that was in the way. He sighed on her neck, which in turn sent a shudder down her spine. Not because she was cold, but more like because _she enjoyed the feeling._

His hands fell on her waist as he brought her body close to his. Juvia couldn't believe how intimate she was with the demon, but she had to let him drink her blood. It was the only way to finish off the book.

"I guess you could still make me feel better now."

He didn't even pause as he attacked her neck. Her blood swirled in his mouth as he enjoyed the sensation and the life that she was giving him. Juvia herself felt so pleasured and she never knew that she would ever have a blood fetish. She wanted to release a moan so badly, but she held her tongue. Instead, she let him continue his little feast. She knew that his magic wouldn't affect her because of Igneel's scarf. She also knew that he poured all of his concentration into trying to drain her of her blood.

She took a deep breath and tried to ignore the intimate euphoria that he was giving her as he sucked at her neck. She quietly started chanting more of the book, continuing until she felt End pull away from her.

"What the hell are you mumbling?"

It sounded as if he were slurring, almost as though he were drunk off of Juvia's blood. Juvia didn't stop as she distanced herself away from him. She knew that he was going to be too strong for her, especially as he had gone straight for her blood.

He was discombobulated as he tried to get his bearings around him. This egged Juvia to go on, faster and faster as Igneel was mentally cheering that she was getting closer to the end.

By the time End realised that she was muttering the words to his book backwards, it was already too late. His dark purple eyes widened in shock, then they clouded over in anger. Juvia had retreated to the back of her cell and she could sense that he was going to attack.

"You BITCH!"

He lunged forwards, his arm outstretched and ready to grab at her neck when Juvia spat out the last words of the book.

" _-bring back Natsu."_

She used her strength to burst the cuffs on her wrist and then sent a fireball his way, hoping that it would knock him back and that by the time he got up, she would have her Natsu back.

Her heart was racing as her blood roared in her ears as she anticipated was going to happen next. She heard him grunt and when he stood up, her heart became heavy and dread washed over her.

There stood End, as the reading of the book had no effect on him at all. Juvia swallowed her saliva harshly and even Igneel was silent in this moment.

End took the time to look down at his body to see what had been injured. His eyes blazed with anger as he slowly looked up at the female in front of him. He felt Natsu jostle from within him, but End still had the ultimate control.

"What. Did. You. Just. Do?"

Juvia shifted on her feet as she licked her lips. There was no time to give into the fear now, she was going to have to fight. She wasn't weak and it was time to step up to the plate and show that she wasn't.

"I'm pretty sure you know what I just did. I read the book of End backwards."

End stared at her before laughing. It started off as a chuckle, but then it got louder and faster as it became hysterical, making him look like a madman. Juvia politely stood there and waited for him to finish.

"That's real cute Juvia. You don't speak Mildian."

"But Yato does."

His face fell. "And you learnt the language in _3 months_?" He made it sound as if it wasn't humanly possible to learn a language that quickly and he didn't want to believe it.

"Yes, I did."

End then wiped his face of every emotion. "Well it doesn't really matter, does it? You've finished reading the book yet your precious Natsu isn't back and I'm not dead. Looks like you failed!"

As he shouted the last word, he sent an attack her way. Her eyes widened and she used her fast reflexes to move out of the way.

"Oh yeah, don't think I didn't notice that cheeky little fire ball as well! Plus, you've got Igneel's scarf around your sexy little waist! I see you've been waiting for this fight!"

Juvia tried her best to dodge every attack. Every time the black balls hit something, the item would cease to exist. Juvia didn't want that for herself at all.

"Fire dragon's claw!"

She finally snuck in an attack and then used a water based attack that wouldn't extinguish the flames, but would rather aid in causing him pain.

"Water slicer!"

One of her water slicers chopped off one of his horns and he screamed in agony. Juvia actually managed to feel bad and she saw the purple in his eyes vanish as it changed once again. She knew that it was Natsu taking over his body once again, if only for a few seconds. This was the man that she was falling in love with, not the demon.

"Keep going Juvia! Keep attacking!"

"But Natsu, that's your body!"

"And he's taking over it! Trust me Juvia, don't worry about me, just get rid of this parasite for me, okay? I believe in you, I know that you will same me and get me out of this mess okay? Just remember when using my attacks, attack with your heart. Attack with everything you've got, okay? You'll win."

Before Juvia could even say anything, End was back in full force making her jump out of the dungeon. The last time that Natsu had taken over, it took him a while to come back to reality and Juvia would rather fight on ground level than sub ground. She didn't want the ceiling to cave in on her.

" **ARE YOU RUNNING FROM ME?!"**

Juvia could hear nothing but pure rage in his voice and she could tell that he was close by. There was no time for games now, she knew that End was going to come back with a vengeance, which is why she needed an open area to fight him.

She looked back to see everything turning black and disappearing. She growled in anger and ran on harder. She was a little surprised that no demon had stopped her yet, but she didn't have time to care about something so trivial. One wrong move and she could die here.

" **I'm not gonna hurt you Juvia, I'm pretty sure we can figure something out together. Become my personal blood bag and I won't have to kill you!"**

She ducked her head down when one of the chandeliers above her head exploded, but she didn't let it phase her.

" _This is taking too long, I'm just going to burst my way out of here."_

" _Be my guest."_

Juvia turned sharply and punched a door down before breaking through a wall using her fire fists. She jumped through the window and braced herself for the fall. She landed on her feet in a crouched down position before using the momentum to then cartwheel. She could sense an attack coming her way.

" **End's spear!"**

It was almost like her water slicer but it was coming point on instead. She threw her hands up into the air.

"Water dome!"

She didn't know exactly how her water would fare against his attacks, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Either way, End was still in the air, she would be able to dodge on time before he got to the ground anyway.

The spears went through the dome just like she expected and she quickly jumped backwards. Her eyebrow raised when she realised that her water had actually slowed down the spears. End didn't look too happy.

Juvia smirked in response before unleashing an attack. She gathered the fire in her hand and made it look as if she were about to do a kamehameha wave.

"Fire dragon, crimson blast!"

The fire came roaring out of the attack in the shape of a traditional Chinese dragon as it met with End in the air. She watched as he made some sort of shield using his magic and it looked like the fire was just being sucked right in. She watched in horror before shaking her head. Now was not the time to be grossly amazed by that magic.

He slammed to the ground, angry as anything. Juvia was angry herself. How had the book not _worked_?!

" **End's needle spin!"**

He ran towards her and at the same time, around him, there were mini versions of the spear that he had just thrown at her. They all came at her from different directions and she gulped. End himself was coming towards her and she knew that he would have a crazy plan in his head. At the end of the day, he still had remnants of Natsu's crazy fighting nature within him.

"Sierra!"

She shot towards him without another thought, her own plan forming in her head. She was going to use her water to slow him down and then do the same thing that she had done to Wendy and Gajeel when they had all sparred each other at Yato's house.

She went through his body, slowing down all the needles and even End himself as she grimaced in pain. She had to ignore it if she wanted this move to work. "Fire dragon's roasting bath: explode!"

Her body had quickly changed to fire, quicker than it had done in the sparring session and End could suddenly feel himself grow from cold to instantly boiling as he was soon blown away from the attack. He was bewildered when he had slammed the wall, as he was pretty sure that wasn't something that Natsu had learnt.

" **So you've already grown used to Igneel's powers, eh? Useful, but annoying."**

Juvia instantly knew that End was going to try something else and she was right when he suddenly ended up behind him. She tried to duck out of the way, but he grabbed her hair and punched her in the stomach. Her vision went blurry as she covered her leg in fire, but coated it with water. She roundhouse kicked him away from her as she tried to sort out her breathing and pat down her hair where she had been grabbed.

End laughed as he came forward again, shooting black holes in her direction, making her duck and run for safety. That punch had really hurt and she could barely concentrate on what Igneel was saying.

" _You're going to have to use the water and fire together at the same time, just like you did now. If you use the fire as a base and the water magic on top to slow him down, it should all work out. Ignore the pain, I'll deal with that."_

Juvia could do nothing but nod, even though all she had to do was mentally say 'ok.' She was just in pain.

Out of nowhere, she could feel her body go through a change. She was surprised when she looked down and noticed that she was growing scales. Was Igneel helping her go into the dragon force state?

" _I'm forcing this onto you so you'll have to make this fight quick. I know that you haven't reached a state where you can do this yourself, so I thought I'll jump start it for you. Look out!"_

" **End's canon!"**

A huge boulder like ball of darkness came towards Juvia and she gritted her teeth before covering her leg in fire and water once more and kicking it upwards. As soon as she looked back, End was already in front of her, ready to punch her lights out. She smirked a little bit before grabbing his fist which shocked him.

"Fire dragon's water grip strike!"

She blasted him with fire and water right into his face as he spluttered. Not even giving any time to rest, she had already called out her next move.

"Fire dragon's water sword horn!"

She headbutted him and he dropped to the ground. With the scales on her body, she was now enduring a lot more in the fight. She mentally thanked Igneel for that as she saw the dark mage pick himself up. He clicked out his neck, almost as if this was light work for him.

" **I've got to admit, you're using that magic awfully well for someone who's only had three months to master it. What's your secret?"**

Juvia humphed. "A wizard never reveals their secrets."

End grinned, looking almost like a wolf who was going to eat her. " **Thought you might say that. End's stygian blast circle!"**

Juvia saw the dark magic swirl in his hand and before she knew it, it came in contact with her. She screamed out as she felt as though it were supposed to kill her, but for some reason, it couldn't tear through her. Even End himself grunted in frustration.

"Kya! Fire dragon's brilliant water flame!"

She managed to clap her hands in front of his face which sent off another explosion, but it was so bright it caused for him to lose his sight for a moment. "Fire and water double nebula!"

She sent two helixes from either hand as they hit the demon head on once again. Juvia dropped down to her knees as she could feel herself getting tired. She had already used up too much magic and her being in dragon force didn't help much. It was starting to drain her quicker. She just didn't know how to end this fight.

" **That's it. I'm going to drain you of every last drop of blood in your system before I cast your body into the world of** _ **nothing.**_ **I'm going to end you."**

He cackled at his own joke and Juvia couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. Fatigue was starting to take over her body and she could feel the dragon force waning. " _Not good, not good!"_

" **End's spear!"**

Juvia shot up her hand to create a water dome, but somehow, the spear started flowing in a different direction anyway. End watched it with confusion as there seemed to be a hurricane. Juvia smiled tiredly as she could hear the others coming for her. She turned her head and Wendy, Gajeel, Carla, Lily and Happy. She grinned, being so happy to them.

"Let's go Lily, spin me!"

The exceed spun around three times to gain momentum before he threw Gajeel towards End. Gajeel grinned evilly as he went into his own dragon force, his whole body covered in nothing but iron.

"Iron dragon's lance: demon logs!"

There were multiple iron logs that flew at End and because he wasn't expecting the new arrival, he was instantly hit by them all.

"Gihihihi, even in this state, he's just as clueless as Salamander. Wait, or is the ame onna Salamander now? Oh well, who cares."

"Juvia! Are you okay?"

Wendy approached the tired mage who nodded at her. Happy flew into her arms and she squeezed him tightly. He had tears in his eyes as he looked up at her.

"Next time, tell me. We can do this together, we're partners!"

Juvia sighed and nodded her head, trying her best to make sure that her own tears didn't fall down her face. He was right. He had already temporarily lost Natsu, if no one had realised what had happened to her and where she had gone, she could very possibly lose this fight and then he would have lost the both of them.

"Juvia is sorry," she whispered. She reverted back to her third person speech which had proved how sorry she was. She glanced up at Wendy who was also trying to hide some of her tears and she slowly stood up before hugging the younger mage who clung onto her tightly.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. We're here to help you now, I can heal you if you want. Wait, are you in dragon force?"

Juvia smiled sheepishly and shrugged. Most of the scales had disappeared, but Ignel grunted in her mind to say that as long as she stayed out of the fight for a while, he can bring it back.

"Not for long I guess. It's just a one time thing until I'm able to master it myself. Well technically, it's just a one time thing because by the time we're done, Natsu would have his magic back and I would be a water mage again. But yeah, don't worry about me, have your full strength. End's magic is literally _end._ He uses black holes, if you get touched by one of them..."

Carla nodded her head. "We'll stay clear of this fight, save ourselves for when we join the others in the Alvarez fight."

Juvia blanched, remembering that there was a full on war going on, not just her fight with End. Her job was to try and keep him away from it for as long as she could so that when he _did_ join back in with the rest of the battle, he would be Natsu again. It also explained why there were no more demons left.

"Okay, well if you're so sure, I'll be helping out Gajeel."

Just as Wendy was about to go, Happy stopped her, but he was in his battle mode. Carla and Wendy gasped, Lily closed his eyes, knowing that this was something he had to do himself while Juvia tried to keep the tears out of her eyes.

"No, this is something that I have to do. You and Gajeel should most definitely save yourselves for the war and I'll fight this out."

"Happy..."

He looked down at Carla who was staring at the ground with her fists clenched by her side. She was shaking at the thought of Happy going out to fight End, but she knew that if that were Wendy in Juvia's position, she would want to fight for her herself, so at least she understood. She wanted to help him by using her magic, but like Wendy mentioned, there's still a war in which she was planning to fight in.

"Do your best to get through to him, okay?"

Happy raised both eyebrows in surprise before he nodded at her. Juvia called him too.

"Set your fists on fire, I need to do something first."

He did so without even asking. He needed to go and relieve Gajeel from the fight. Juvia's hands over the flames as she enchanted something. His hands were then covered in water, but the flames were underneath.

"There you go. I've learnt that water can slow him down, but with the fire underneath, it gives more of a kick to it. If you wear Natsu's scarf as well, that should protect you from his magic."

Slowly and carefully, she unwrapped it from around her waist and passed it onto the exceed. He nodded at her, wiping his tears away from his face.

"You just stay put and get your energy back for the final attack, okay?:

Juvia nodded as she sat back on the ground behind a rock. She hissed in pain as the two exceeds and Wendy watched her. She smiled tightly at them as if to show them that she'll be okay.

"What happened, didn't you get to read the book fully to him?" Wendy was confused as to how End would still be alive. By now, Juvia should have been able to read the book to him!

Juvia let out a humourless chuckle. "Oh, I read it alright. Read the full thing backwards, barely needed to stop. _Nothing happened._ "

They were all silent as she sighed and brought the book out of her pocket. "It seems to talk a lot about emotions and I feel as though a page is missing from the book. Maybe it had the answer on it and that's why it was ripped out or something. Or maybe it's hidden."

Gajeel soon joined them behind the rock, a little dazed. His shirt was already ripped, but apart from that, he seemed unharmed.

Juvia looked up him, worried. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

He shook his head and watched from over the rock. "Happy has definitely gotten stronger. Lily musta trained him really well."

The exceed in mention blushed as they all watched Happy fighting. End wasn't happy in the slightest bit.

" **You cowards, you've sent a** _ **cat**_ **to attack me?! I'LL KILL HIM HERE IN FRONT OF YOU!"**

End started laughing, but he didn't realise how angry Happy now was. The cat towered over him, just a few centimetres shorter than Lily was in his battle form. His fist swung back and it looked like there was fire in his eyes.

"Bring Natsu back to us! Fire dragon's water spiralling punch!"

It was an attack that he had used against the other two exceeds and it was perfect for when people underestimated him. The sheer power behind the attack was so great that a part of the guild crumbled. The only difference with this attack now was that when he used it against Lily, he didn't make contact with him. Now, Happy's fist was buried within End's abdomen and the spiral of fire rocketed him backwards.

Happy wasted no time in charging forward, with his feet on fire. It added to his speed and he found where End was standing up before calling out another spell. "Fire dragon fist charge!"

Though Juvia couldn't see the attacks as she was sitting behind the rock trying to regain a little bit of strength back, she could hear the attacks and feel the power behind them. Her nose also picked up the scent of salt and knew immediately that Happy had tears in his eyes. As painful as it was, they knew they had to give it all they had in order to attack End. He wasn't Natsu.

"He's doing good."

Juvia hummed in agreement before they heard End talk.

" **Oh? If it's fists we're using, you should have said. Now it's my turn."**

End came with his own barrage of punches and it took a lot of energy and concentration for Happy to dodge every single hit that came towards him. End's hands were covered in dark flames and Happy knew what it meant if a single one of them touched his body. He would disappear and there was no way he was going to let that happen.

" **Cocky cat, taste this! End's strike!"**

End's right hand pulled back and before Happy knew it, End used speed like no other to upper cut him into the air.

Happy's jaw immediately dislocated from the hit and he couldn't even open his mouth to scream, otherwise that would cause him more pain. He felt like his body was going to be ripped apart by a black hole, but somehow, he was still alive and he knew that it was down to Natsu's scarf saving him. That's why Juvia had made him wear it.

" **End's scissor kick!"**

End jumped onto his hands and spun around as his legs turned in a spinning motion and a black tornado engulfed Happy's body. Happy's adrenaline shot up again and he threw up a water dome that encased his whole body from the attack. Juvia had said that water slowed down End's magic, which was good enough for him. He charged up an attack.

"Fire dragon's water devastating punch!"

He flew out from the tornado and broke off the water dome. He knew that End wouldn't be expecting this attack!

Only, the demon was expecting something like that. Happy noticed it too late, but there was a soul crushing smirk plastered all over End's face, as if to say that he had him right where he wanted him.

Carla watched in fear, she knew what was going to happen, but she was paralysed. Judging by Happy's look, he knew what was going to happen too, but he didn't have enough time to move. Even if he did, he would still get pierced by the attack.

" **End's needle spin!"**

"NO! HAPPY!"

All of End's needles headed straight for Happy and it looked like over 1 million needs were coming his way. This was the end huh?

End cackled darkly before realising that not all of his needles hit Happy. Right there, there was a water dome that had been put up in time that only allowed for five needles to shoot through. Happy's body collapsed to the floor and Wendy and Gajeel looked down to see Juvia's eyes were closed tightly. She had been the one to throw up a shield and dome without even being able to see where Happy was. Lily didn't waste any time as he ran out for Happy's body.

"Hey, kid. We need to head out there and slow him down a little more."

"No guys, let me come with you too."

Juvia tried to get up, but Wendy shook her head and pushed her down gently. "It looks like Igneel needs a little more time in patching up those areas with the dragon scales. Let him finish it off before you come out and help. Not long now."

" _She's right, Juvia. Not long now and I'll be done."_

The other two dragon slayers hopped out and Juvia ignored End's screams of how he wasn't able to kill happy, who was just a cat. Lily brought Happy's body round and he was now in his default form. Juvia felt tears prick her eyes as she stroked Happy's fur, the moment he was in her arms.

"Oh Kami, Happy. Thank you for going out there, but I didn't want for this to happen! I need to End this all quickly."

She sobbed as she brought his head up to her lips and she kissed his forehead. The cat stirred and opened his eyes and saw Juvia staring down at him. He gave her a weak grin.

"Heh, I gave End a little challenge. Thanks for the shield."

Juvia giggled through her tears and nodded. "Of course you gave him a challenge, you're _Happy._ Besides, I wasn't going to let you get hit by all those needles. Magical item or not, I didn't want to lose you, Happy."

The cat nodded. "On the plus side, the shell shock of the attack knocked my jaw back into place, though it still hurts a little bit."

Juvia nodded. "Then stop talking and rest. I need Igneel to finish with my dragon scales again while Wendy and Gajeel hold off End a little bit long. We'll get you to Porlyusica as soon as we can, okay?"

Happy nodded, his eyes already closing. "Aye, sir," he responded weakly.

Carla had tears in her eyes too as she came forward and stroked Happy's cheeks. Lily gave an angry growl, looking as if he wanted to head back out there and pummel End, but he still needed to save his energy. Juvia looked like she had one hell of a crazy plan forming in her head.

"Juvia, you said that the book of End had a page that was possibly hidden, right?"

Juvia nodded her head towards Lily. "Can I have the book please?"

Juvia nodded once more and handed it off to him. He thanked her silently as she took off her jacket and placed it on the ground and wrapped Happy up into it. He stook the scarf from him and tied it around her waist as Lily started thumbing his way through the book.

Juvia heard Igneel speak. " _It's all done, you're good to go now."_

Juvia looked down to see that the scales were back all over her body and she nodded her head. She looked down to the exceeds.

"Igneel's all done and I'm back in dragon force mode. Keep looking through the book and Carla, stay with Happy, okay?"

The two cats nodded as she hopped over the boulder, in time to see Gajeel and Wendy get thrown back by End. That was odd, how was he suddenly able to take on two dragon slayers when it was clear that he was having a little trouble with Happy? Her eyes narrowed as she bolted towards him. "Water and fire cyclone!"

End laughed as he merely moved out of the way in a flash. " **I was wondering where you had run off to, hiding behind that boulder I see. End's scythe!"**

He waved his hand in front of him in the shape of an arch and a scythe materialised in his hand. He then slashed it towards Juvia and she didn't have any time before she was cut down. There was a huge slash on her chest as she cried out in pain. She would have easily been sliced in half if she didn't have the dragon scales on her body. The other two had been weakened and Juvia wondered what had happened while she was talking to the exceeds.

She saw End lick his lips in a creepy way, almost as if he had drank something. She shivered when she remembered how in _love_ he was with her blood and her hand unconsciously flew up to her neck. That action alone made End's eyes light up in sick fascination.

" **It would seem that I got a little power up from this."**

He held up an empty vial and Juvia saw the remains of red liquid. Her eyes widened. "My blood!"

" **Yes, your blood. You don't seem to believe me when I say that your blood is what I need to function. It makes me stronger and now that I've had some again and you're weakened, you won't be able to stop me!"**

Juvia thought about it as she could see her own blood pouring from her wounds. It was an imperfect spell, but what better time to experiment it than now? End was still laughing when the other two dragon slayers got up from where they were and nodded to each other. Juvia saw the interaction and knew what they were about to do. She willed that her being in dragon force would be enough of a shield for her.

"IRON/SKY DRAGON'S ROAR!"

Juvia would have done the same long ago, but a dragon's roar takes a lot out of her and she needed her energy for a long fight. Besides, she wanted to try this move. End turned around to face the dragon slayers that he thought he had knocked out. " **What the-"**

The blast hit him dead on and Juvia put her hands weakly up to protect herself. With End occupied, she held her hand out in his direction and twisted it as if she were twisting a doorknob and muttered the words, "water make." End screamed as he twisted too.

" **GAH, WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"**

Everyone watched as End writhed in pain and he fell to the ground. They all noticed Juvia sweating heavily as she smirked. "This is what I call water make. Don't forget, I'm primarily a water mage and _every. Last. Drop_ of water can be used to my disposal."

End's eyes widened as he growled. " **You're controlling my blood?!"**

"Yes, I am. I can now keep you tied down."

End smiled ferally. " **Okay, but for how long? Judging by that wound on your chest, you're going to pass out any moment."**

It was true. Juvia wasn't going to be able to hold up any longer, but she gritted her teeth and twisted her hand once again, causing for End to yell. He felt as though his bones were breaking. Honestly, he had never been in such pain before.

"JUVIA, WE FOUND THE EXTRA PAGE!"

Juvia jumped in surprise as the exceeds flew towards her. She saw Wendy healing up Gajeel before she healed herself. They then came and joined the rest of them as Lily showed Juvia the extra page that had been hidden.

"We felt that one of the pages was too thick, so we cut it open and this is what we found. It has three words on it."

Juvia stared at it the page, a tear rolling down her eyes unconsciously. She almost forgot her water make magic being used and felt End try to get up. She quickly twisted and wiped the tear, thanking the three exceeds. It was so simple and so true. It was just three little words and she had come to understand why it would destroy End as well. Why didn't she think of this before?

" _I love you."_

End screamed as he managed to put his hands up to his ears, almost as though he were a child having a tantrum. It was weird. End himself wasn't supposed to understand Mildian, but those words rang clear in his head and he knew what she was saying.

" **NO, NO YOU DON'T!"**

Juvia felt a sob in her throat, tears rolling down her face. It made sense. Zeref wasn't allowed to love or appreciate life, so it would make sense that if someone loved him, he would be weakened. It was probably the same way to finish off all his demons too. She let her water make go as she readied a suitable to attack for this moment. Juvia made a heart shape with her two hands as a tear rolled down her face and she placed her hands above her head.

" _I love you!"_

" **No...no, no, no, NO!"**

As soon as he said that last no, Juvia's hands swung in front of her body in the shape of a heart as she called out her attack.

"WINGS OF LOVE!"

The butterfly wings of water materialised on her back before rushing forward and hitting End straight on. It was almost as if a dark spirit was trying to flee from Natsu's body because soon enough, a black cloud flew out of his eyes and mouth as Juvia's water rushing instead, as if trying to purge and cleanse him of all the evil that was in his body.

" _Juvia, quickly, get rid of it!"_

" _How?! What spell should I use?!"_

" _I know that Makarov banned you from using it and I agreed, but you're going to have to do a fire dragon roar using your water magic and...lightning."_

" _WHAT?! Why, what will that do?!"_

" _The fire is the only real way to get rid of end, for him to go completely. However, with the aid of the light from the lightning, it will sweep away every darkness and your water will slow it down to make sure that the target is fully subdued and killed._

Juvia nodded and used the last of her strength to conjure enough magic. She hoped it worked. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. By the time she opened her eyes, they shone like a bright crystal blue colour.

"Guys, get behind the boulder, Gajeel wait until all of End is out of Natsu and grab his body for me, then you have to shield everyone with your iron!" She waited until everyone stood behind the rock and the last of End flew out of Natsu's unmoving body. Gajeel grabbed up his body without a second thought and Juvia prepared her attack on the dark cloud that now looked like it was floating around, looking for a new host.

"WATER LIGHTNING FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"

The attack was so great that Juvia practically blinded herself from the amount of light that poured out of the attack. The recoil of the attack made her slam into the boulder, which then shattered. She felt something cold and hard on her back and knew immediately that she was up against Gajeel's shield that he had placed to protect them from the attack. The dark cloud dissipated and the rest of the guild's building disintegrated from the sheer magic power. The ground ruptured as the explosion carried on for miles.

Juvia turned around to face her team with a weak smile. Gajeel pulled down the shield as they all stared at her in shock. Juvia saw Natsu's body placed next to Happy's and she let out a huge sigh with a smile. Everyone else started grinning.

"I'm just so glad that's over."

She only managed to take one step towards them before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she slumped to the ground.

* * *

Natsu woke up first as his eyes were unfocused and kept on blinking. He sat up slowly before he noticed that he was in Porlyusica's house. He could smell the old woman all around him, but he couldn't seem to find her. He called out, but because his voice had been so unused, he coughed instead, which then got her attention because soon enough, she came running in.

"You're awake!"

"Yeah, I am...I knew I could count on Juvia! Where is she, I can smell her and Happy!"

His face lit up at the thought of Juvia. He knew that she would be the one to pull him out of End's grip and she had finally done it. He couldn't wait to see her and give her the biggest huge he had ever given anyone.

Porlyusica's face didn't look at all happy though. In fact, she looked melancholic and Natsu's happy vibe died down. A chill ran up his spine and he didn't know what to think. She wasn't dead, was she? No, she couldn't be, otherwise he wouldn't be able to smell her!

His voice shook as he spoke. "W-where is she?"

"First of all, I would like to commend you for being so strong for waking up so quickly. It hasn't even been an hour, yet here you are, wide awake. You'll be able to join the others in the current war. I know you're so behind on the news, but Zeref needs to be destroyed."

Natsu knew that the old woman was trying to stall in telling him what had happened, so he gulped and stood up. "Please, please just _tell_ me, where is Juvia?"

His voice broke as he was ready to break down and cry. Porlyusica herself heard it and she wanted to break down and cry too. She nodded her head as she beckoned for him to follow her.

He went through her house and noted that he had never been so deep in before. He didn't even know that this part of her house existed. She stopped in front of a door and Natsu noted that her scent was coming from here.

"Natsu, please prepare yourself for what you're about to see."

With that, she pushed open the door and Natsu's eyes widened at what he saw in front of him. The air in his lungs were rudely knocked out of him as he stared in horror at his fellow nakama.

There was a huge water tank in the room and all he could see was Juvia's head floating in it. Happy was sitting in front of it too as he was awake. He turned his head to see Natsu standing there and Natsu saw this his best friend was in tears. Happy flew into Natsu's arms and Natsu caught him without thinking, the exceed sobbing into his chest.

"W-what h-happened?" He finally managed to speak after what seemed to be an eternity of standing there. He had tried many times to blink and blink again, hoping that it wasn't real, but every time he opened his eyes, he was rudely reminded that this was indeed reality. Happy's sobs sounded real enough for him to know that this was all real.

"From what Gajeel and Wendy had told me, she used an attack that was so strong, it tore her body apart. Her body was evaporating slowly, but they got to me on time and I quickly put her in a water tank so that she can help heal herself too. Usually, she would have had at least her top half by now, but I understand that she used lightning, water and fire mixed as one. A _very_ deadly combo for a water mage. How she was able to pull it off, I'll never know. I'm sure Makarov would have forbidden her from using it."

Natsu put his fist in his mouth as he tried not to cry out loud. Porlyusica noticed the action and turned him around so that they could go back to the main room.

"She's like that because of me!"

"No, don't you _dare_ blame yourself! Blame Zeref, he's the one that made you like this! Now, if you want to avenge Juvia, go and find Zeref and put an end to this, before anyone else gets hurt."

Natsu nodded, wiping his tears from his eyes as his rage grew. He was aware that he didn't have any magic in him right now, but that didn't matter. He was going to find a way to make Zeref regret what he's done, the lives his killed and the people that he's hurt. His anger grew until his heart was filled with it.

"Are you ready, Happy?"

The cat gave him a hard look and he nodded as he wiped his tears away. Now was not the time to cry, not when the real reason as to why Juvia was stuck in a water tank was out there.

They were about to run out of the hut when the old healer called out to him.

"Don't forget this!"

She flung it to him and he caught the white fabric. He stared down at it as he caressed his scarf that Igneel had given him. He wrapped it around his neck and he could smell Juvia on it as well. He breathed in deeply, inviting for her scent to take over his senses before he ran out.

Oh Zeref was going to _pay._

* * *

So how was that chapter for you guys? Hope it was good enough for you all!

So Natsu is finally back, but now he's magicless, wonder how that will all play out teehee. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve in the next update, don't you worry. I'm not going to go into detail, but if you're following the anime, the next chapter might play as a little spoiler for you. I'm using the manga ending if you haven't already seen in, but of course I'll be adding some Navia into it, which then twists it a little bit. I'll remind you of the spoiler in the next chapter in the beginning A/N. Read it if you want, or read it after the anime has caught up, whichever you prefer lol.

Fight scenes are always things that have been so hard for me to write. I always have to get tabs and tabs of everyone's wikia pages so that I can see what their abilities are and then try to add it into the story. It's a long process, writing fight scenes, especially for End because he doesn't have any. Eventually, I also decided to use some of Zeref's dark attacks. Why Juvia didn't die was because she had Igneel's scarf around her waist and apparently, having a magical item like that means that Zeref's attacks are unable to kill you. But alas, even he doesn't have many attacks. I apologize for an awful fight scene! Also, I was too lazy to write anything to do with Wendy and Gajeel's fight with End, after all, I'm making them save their energy for when they go back to their canon fights (fights that took place in the manga).

This was the longest fight scene I've ever had to write (I think) and like I said before, I SUCK at fight scenes so I apologize for it being so crappy.

Please don't forget to rate or hate, flames or floods! Reviews are awesome, just like you guys!

P.S. There's a guest reviewer called End. You're starting to piss me off, stop freaking reviewing would ya? I feel like you're a troll and to be honest, i haven't got time for you.

Lolita-chan


	12. You're my new heart

Hey, Dark Gothic Lolita here!

WELL, WELL, WELL, WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE?! I SENSE THE END OF THIS STORY APPROACHING!

That's right, you've read it correctly, this is indeed the last chapter of this wonderful story. As you can see, it's a long one and I've spent so much of my time on it. **This is a spoiler chapter, for those who are following the anime and have no clue about the ending. Honestly, read this at your own risk, you can't way I didn't warn ya. Look, it's even written in bold for ya.**

But yeah, this wonderful journey has now come to an end. Honestly, it was great fun writing this story and I sincerely from the bottom of my heart thank the person who gave Sakura the idea to give this story to me to adopt. It even gave me new ideas to start thinking about things and so on so forth. I have a million and one different stories in my head now, but I feel like I need to finish the ones I've already started lol.

Anyway, I tried to proof read this to the best of my ability, apologies in advance for poor spelling and grammar.

ENJOY!

* * *

 **Heartbroken**

 **You're my new heart**

"These are the ravines of time, my world."

Natsu was stood in front of Acnologia with a hard face as the King of Dragons smirked at him. Zeref and all the demons had been defeated, but there was still one last enemy. Acnologia.

"You're going to be the last that I add to my collection."

That was when Natsu looked up and noticed that in the streams of light, there were bodies of all the other dragon slayers. His eyes widened when he realised that they were all unconscious. When had he even had the time to capture them all and bring them here?!

"What the-"

"By devouring the ravines of time, I now have time and space magic. And as such, I shall surpass time and space itself and destroy the world, and within this world of spacetime, I shall exterminate the last dragon slayers here."

Natsu clenched his fist in anger. Just who the hell did he think he was?! That was also a very hypocritical statement as well. That would have to mean that he would kill himself.

"Quit runnin' your mouth."

Acnologia carried on, as if he couldn't hear him, the smirk on his face deepening. "You too, shall become a human pillar and rest here for all eternity."

Natsu soon felt the ground shake at his feet as the stream of light threatened to take his life. He tried to resist, but it was gripping at him very hard. He groaned and grunted and it didn't help that he had already fought off Zeref using the remaining magic that he could feel lingering on the scarf. Other than that, he had a very low amount of magic lingering in his body, but it wasn't enough to even set his pinky alight.

Before he knew it, the ravines shattered all around him and he gasped. Acnologia stared blankly before they heard a voice. "I'll protect you with my sky magic!"

Natsu turned back, shock, relief and happiness all on his face at once.

"W-Wendy, how can you move?!"

She gave him a soft look. "I thought I could hear Carla calling for me."

There was another smash and Natsu turned his attention to it and saw that Gajeel was now walking towards him, stretching out his arms as if he had a knot in his muscles. "As for me, I could hear Levy's and Lily's."

There was another four smashes. "So you guys can hear it too, eh?"

"The voices of the people who are waiting for us to come home, they're giving us strength."

Laxus twisted his neck to the side as it clicked. "Now then, let's get this party started, Natsu."

Soon, all the dragon slayers were standing there behind Natsu as he grinned with excitement. He wasn't going to go through it alone, he now had a team.

"It's time to slay this dragon!"

Acnologia just stared at them before he started chuckling. It escalated into laughter before he started laughing like a maniac.

"This is _perfect._ You've got a lot of nerve, Natsu. Your magic reserve is so low, it's almost as if you don't even have any magic running through you. How are you even going to lay a _finger_ on me?"

Everyone looked at the fire dragon slayer in surprise. How was he able to still stand with his magic reserve so low? How were they even going to win this fight?! It was clear that Natsu is the strongest dragon slayer, without him having any magic, they were all finished.

Natsu glared at the oldest dragon slayer and as he was about to reply, they all felt another presence, which startled them all. Wendy started quivering, tears building up in her eyes and Gajeel's eyes widened. Natsu's jaw dropped as he felt his hands tremble.

"Ju-Juvia?"

The mage smirked and nodded as she walked towards them all from their left hand side. Her hair flowed out from behind her, free from its braid and her clothes wasn't her usual. She seemed to be wearing a sleeveless catsuit and her tattoos were all on for show as they glowed, showing her intensive training that she had done over the last three months. Her hips sashayed as she walked towards them with nothing but pure confidence.

"I am able to rectify that."

Acnologia turned to look at her, his face full of disgust. He could feel Natsu's magic running through her, but he didn't know how there could be two dragon slayers with the same magic. Dragons only taught one pupil. If he cared enough, he would have asked how that was possible, but that just meant one more person to kill.

"How did one more dragon slayer escape my knowledge? Who are _you_?"

Juvia chuckled and her eyes pulsed in a steady crystal blue colour. "Nothing more than a mere substitute. I am here to give back what is rightfully Natsu's."

Rogue, Sting and Cobra were confused. They could smell Natsu all over her and they wondered if they had mated, but they could also feel his fire running through her, whereas they couldn't sense it in Natsu. Unfortunately, this was not the time for explanations. They had a fight to end. It most probably had a link to the fact that Natsu didn't have any magic running through him.

Acnologia continued to stare at Juvia. "How did you get here though? For you to be here, I need to have knowledge of you so that I can bring you here. You do not have the power to exist in my world if I am not aware of your existence."

Juvia hissed and put a hand to her heart with a sarcastic smirk on her face. "Ouch, you don't have to be so mean you know. I have been gravely injured and I'm currently in a comatose state. However, this is only affecting my physical state, meaning that my magic state is running in abundance. For the last three months, I have been nurturing the magic of a fire dragon slayer, meaning that I am able to exist in this world with the rest of you."

Wendy nodded, understanding it more than anyone. "That sounds like Ultear-san's predicament, only she can exist when someone is messing about with time magic."

Juvia nodded. She didn't know that that was Ultear's fate, but it seemed to make sense. She must have used up all her magical power for her to only exist where there's a hole in time. Just like right now, Juvia herself can only exist in the ravines due to the amount of dragon slayers that were setting off their magic in one area.

Acnologia smirked and motioned for her to do what she was planning on doing. "I'll entertain you. I might as well get some fun out of it. Do what you need to do."

Juvia nodded and came towards Natsu who still looked like he couldn't believe that she was there in front of him. She held his trembling hands and smiled at him softly.

"How-"

"I know that it's hard for you to believe, but I'm okay. It's time to give you your magic back."

Without letting him speak, she kissed his lips softly. Everyone else gasped and Natsu's eyes widened, but he could suddenly feel the transference of magic pass from her lips straight to his. He could feel the familiar heat run through his body as his own, but he pushed that to the back of his mind. Right now, Juvia was kissing him and that's all that mattered. He couldn't help but place a hand on her hip and he squeezed it gently. Something nagged him at the back of his head that this was also goodbye.

Eventually, they pulled away and Natsu felt his rightful magic in his body. Juvia grinned at him before nodding and stepping out of his way. "You're ready now, go and beat him."

Natsu nodded with a smile. "I'M ALL FIRED UP!"

The seven dragon slayers went ahead to attack Acnologia and Juvia stood back with a smile on her face and a tear rolling down her face. She had given everything that she had left to Natsu, while she felt the healing process on her physical body slow down considerably. If she made it out alive after this war, it would be the biggest miracle of her life, because without any drop of magic in her body, that would mean she was no longer a water mage. And with her body in a water tank where she was relying on herself to breathe in...

She was going to drown.

" _This isn't about me. This is about winning the war and saving the country!"_

It was weird, she was so used to hearing Igneel's voice in her head, that she didn't realise how lonely it was to have a thought in her head and not be able to share it with another person. She smiled despite it. She had helped everyone else in the fight, Wendy was strong and Gajeel was in love.

" _I'm just so happy."_

"I'LL ENCHANT ALL OF OUR POWER INTO YOU, NATSU!"

The dragon slayers all poured their magic into Natsu who was grinning and standing tall. He had been beaten and smacked around by Acnologia's magic, but that didn't stop him. He had a whole country to save and Juvia's heart pounded in her chest. This was the guy she had fallen in love with. She had good memories with him and even though she spent more time trying to save him than really getting to know him, she had fallen deeper than she should have. Was she cursed to never receive love?

" _All I can do is give him the power of my love, for I have nothing left within me. My spirit, soul and body will end here by the looks of it, but my love for Natsu shall always continue."_

"I can feel it!"

Natsu could feel Wendy's enchantment working as the power of all seven dragon slayers became one in his flames. He grinned before realising that he could feel something else. It felt like a different warmth to his magic, as if it reminded him of home, a place where he could be himself. He felt like this magic understood him and that it was always going to be there for him.

" _Juvia."_

He turned back to see her with tears in her eyes, but a simple smile on her face. Her usually midnight blue eyes shone a light crystal blue instead and she looked so serene. Natsu turned back, feeling stronger than ever.

"All of your powers are becoming flames! This is the power of the seven flame dragon!"

Natsu could also feel magic from the outside and knew that everyone outside of the ravines were pouring their all into everything that was going on on that side too. He knew that there was no way possible that he was going to fail.

"Your destruction is nigh, accursed dragons! Behold my almighty power of destruction!"

The two dragon slayers collided and there was nothing but chaos around them. "Simply combining your feeble powers will never be enough to prevail against the dragon king!"

As soon as those words passed his lips, Natsu got an even bigger power boost from everyone on the outside. Juvia looked down at her wrist and giggled, realising that Meredy had used her sensory link to link everyone together for this moment. To think she would never see her again.

Acnologia went berserk once more, screaming about how he will bathe in the blood of dragons once more and Natsu tuned him out. He lifted his fist into the air as it changed into a huge arm made of flames. He was going to end this here and now.

"M-My body!"

Acnologia couldn't move all of a sudden and when he turned to look at Natsu, flashbacks of how he tore through Igneel flashed through his mind.

"THIS IS THE END!"

Natsu's flaming arm smacked Acnologia into the sky as the old slayer felt himself being smashed to pieces.

"There's no way you can fit everything in your hands alone. That's why you gotta treasure the things you do have. Don't get greedy. All I need are my friends, 'slong as I have them, I don't need anything else."

Acnologia stared at him as his body broke down. He nodded. "I see, you are more than worthy of the title 'king.'

Natsu grinned as Acnologia finally faded away. "King? No thanks."

The world around them started breaking down. Without Acnologia, the world that he had created started to disappear along with him. All of the dragon slayers started cheering and they hugged each other from the victory that they had just received.

Natsu grinned as he remembered that Juvia was behind them. He ran over to Juvia before his happiness turned into shock. All of her tattoos had faded and her skin started glowing white.

'Ju-Juvia, your body!"

His cry caught all of the other dragon slayer's attention.

They all started falling out of the sky where they saw everyone cheering for them on the ground. Natsu instinctively held onto Juvia by wrapping his arms around her body as they fell to the ground.

Everyone laughed as they hugged their respective dragon slayer and as team Natsu came to see Natsu, a they could see was him holding Juvia in his arms as he cried into her neck. Juvia held him close with tears in her eyes, but she smiled at everyone regardless.

"Come on Natsu, your team are here to say hi. They haven't seen you since we took that mission for Yato like over three months ago. Don't be so rude."

"Juvia, you're fading away..." Erza stared at the water mage in shock and Juvia just hummed her response. That caught Gajeel and Wendy's attention as the three exceeds came forward as well. The rest of the guild came forward as there was nothing but faraway cheers from the other guilds.

"My physical body is in a coma after using a forbidden spell. Please tell master that I'm sorry, I had to use the spell he adamantly told me not to use. This is my magical state and I was only able to exist in the ravines of time due to me having dragon slayer magic, I was able to be there too. I gave Natsu back all the magic that I had stored in me-"

"And now that the ravines of time have been destroyed, so are you," Lucy finished off. She wiped the tears that had formed in her eyes. Just as they had finished off their greatest foe with no deaths and master himself being alright, were they really going to lose a member at the _end_?

Juvia released Natsu who was reluctant to let go, but he did anyway. Juvia came and hugged Lucy. "I know that I called you love rival for many years, but believe me, most times it was for fun. I've seen how strong you've become and I could sense you being in charge of Fairy Sphere. Take care of Gray and please make sure Natsu doesn't lose his smile for me."

Lucy choked on a sob and all she could do was nod her head and squeeze the girl back. Juvia was satisfied with that as she moved onto Gray next.

"I loved you many years and I still do, but now, only as a nakama. Thank you for showing me the sun and bringing me to Fairy Tail. I've seen that my love was merely gratitude for the kindness that you showed me and I have never received. Make sure you look after Lucy, okay? And you and Lyon must try to be more brotherly."

Gray hugged her. "Sure thing, Juvia."

Things were getting harder for Juvia now as she knew the remaining magic of the ravines were about to give up, but she carried on strong. She still had goodbyes to give out and she was going to give them out regardless.

"Erza-san, I saw you as my big sister. You're my idol and I wanted to be more like you. Titania, keep the guild safe and make sure Natsu and Gray don't kill each other. Please don't have any regrets in life and also, stop beating about the bush with Jellal. Tell him how you feel."

Erza squeezed the girl to her breast as she cried. "Your wish is my command Juvia, I shall try my best."

Juvia scooped up Carla and Lily into her arms as the rest of the guild started to surround them. Her body now looked like white steam that was ready to be whisked away into the air, never to be seen again.

"Look after Gajeel and Wendy for me you guys. I know you're already doing that, but now they're going to need comfort. Remind them that I am happy as long as they're safe."

The two exceeds wrapped their arms around her body and they nodded their heads. She placed them on the floor as Wendy ran into her arms the moment she released them. Juvia giggled as Wendy's arms tightened around her and she cried.

"It's not funny! You're dying and I'm too weak to help you!"

"Oi! You're definitely _not_ weak! There are just things that you can't heal and this is one of them. I didn't just exhaust my magic supplies, Wendy, I emptied myself out."

"B-But Chelia has no magic left either, she's not dying."

Juvia smiled sadly. "No, I can still sense magic within her, she just can't be a sky god slayer anymore. She has the capability to learn other magics now. You're my imouto, everything I did to get me to this state, I did for you. Grow stronger Wendy, I know your potential hasn't ended here and grow stronger than me. When you doubt yourself, ask yourself 'what would Juvia say?' You're not alone, you have Fairy Tail and Chelia, okay?"

"Yes!"

Wendy wouldn't let go and it broke Juvia's heart. She had never had anyone rely on her so much before and it suddenly became painful to leave Wendy like this. Gajeel came and joined the hug. He knew Wendy wouldn't want to let go just yet.

"Ameonna..."

"Gajeel-kun, you've been with Juvia through everything, from Phantom Lord to Fairy Tail. I can't thank you enough for being my best friend as well as my older brother. Protect Wendy, help her train and protect Levy as well. Aldo, please let Yato know that he was the best sensei I ever had and to thank him for getting me so far."

Juvia didn't need to say anymore and all Gajeel did was grunt, though there were tears in his eyes too. He held both girls close to him before Gajeel had to peel Wendy away. She clung onto him instead, as if she couldn't stand to watch Juvia disappear.

"Happy-chan."

The exceed flew into her arms and she carried him there.

"You weren't supposed to die Juvia! When people say they're going to bring someone back even if it kills them, they're just exaggerating!" Happy's tears flowed from his face and Juvia remembered that she had used those exact words when she promised she was going to bring Natsu back.

"Keep on training that battle form of yours. You and Natsu will become an unstoppable duo. Take care of yourself, eat lots of fish and never leave Natsu alone. Even if he wants time to himself, just stay with him, but give him silence until he talks, okay? If he blames himself, remind him that being revived as End was out of his control and that it's not his fault, okay?"

The cat nodded as Juvia sighed and turned to face the last person. This time, she was in his arms. She was surprised at the speed he had used to get them in this position and she looked up at him.

"Natsu-"

"No, I want to talk. I'm not saying goodbye Juvia, cos that means I have to accept that you're dead, which I'm not doing. You lost me and you got me back, I'm not gonna lose you forever, I just have to find a way to get you back myself. I love you."

Juvia's bottom lip quivered as she tried her best to not cry, but it didn't work. Natsu lifted her chin and placed the longest and saddest kiss on her lips. Their tears mixed in as they could taste the salt and melancholy. She held him close until she felt her body levitate. They parted and Natsu tried to hold her body to him and screamed, "YOU CAN'T HAVE HER!"

Juvia choked on the sob that she had been trying to hold back. She smiled and looked down at the rest of the guild. By this time, she had caught the attention of every other guild as they stared up at her in shock. All of Fairy Tail was crying out now as Juvia spoke through her tears.

"I love you all, Fairy Tail was Juvia's true home and she's thankful to have found you."

Just as the last piece of the ravine shattered in the air, Juvia's body disappeared, but not without Natsu hearing her last words.

" _I love you too."_

* * *

" _Where am I? How am I suddenly able to think for myself? What happened to the spirit King, I thought I saw him in front of me?"_

 _Juvia could feel herself being pieced together and suddenly, she saw some light burst through her closed eyes. She felt herself twitching as her nerves seemed to come to life as she sprang up with her eyes wide open._

" _What the-"_

 _Juvia found herself in a bed surrounded by seven huge beasts, one of which she recognised. She stared around in surprise as if she couldn't quite believe what was going on. That was probably because she didn't know what was going on._

" _Finally woke up huh? Took you long enough!"_

 _He was_ _ **definitely**_ _Igneel._

" _What's going on here? I thought I was dead! One minute I'm in the celestial spirit realm, the next I'm here, surrounded by dragons, one of which I see hasn't learnt any manners."_

 _Juvia huffed, crossed her arms, closed her eyes and looked the other way when Igneel started screaming at her for being such a brat. Eventually the two of them looked at each other before they burst out laughing._

" _Good to have you back, kiddo."_

" _Good to be back, I guess? If I knew where back was. Can you explain what's going on, please?"_

" _That's where I come in."_

 _Juvia turned her attention to the dragon next to him and realised that it was a female who spoke. Her eyes had tears in them because she knew exactly who she was without even questioning her._

" _You must be Grandeeney, Wendy's mother."_

 _The dragon smiled at her warmly and nodded her head at her. "I am indeed. Thank you so much for looking after my daughter, I know you two became sisters and you helped train her to the best of your ability. I am eternally grateful."_

 _Juvia blushed. She was never used to receiving praise, so it came as a little shock to her when she heard another dragon who wasn't Igneel speak about how proud they were of her._

" _It's nothing. Just like you said, she's my little sister."_

 _Grandeeney hummed. "I saw the way she cried as she held onto you that day that you passed on. It broke my heart to see that she didn't want to let you go. Honestly, the last time she cried like that was when I had to go inside of her magic coils to make sure that she didn't turn into a dragon in her later life and she thought that I had left her. That was the last time that I heard her cry like that. Until your death that is. I never thought I would hear her cry like that again."_

 _Juvia looked ashamed as she looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't think that final move of mine would put my life jeopardy and eventually kill me, it's just it was the only way to save the others and Natsu-"_

 _The female dragon laughed. "No, it's fine, I'm just happy that she had made a bond with people who mean so much to her. That's why I had to heal you. She hasn't been the same since your death, and with that-_

" _And my constant whining."_

" _Shut up! With all those factors plus my love for humans and my huge sense in pride of you, I started your healing process. Luckily, you died due to magic depletion, so I can bring you back, but this is a one time thing. I am not able to do this for another dragon slayer if it were to happen again. You really wrecked your body, Juvia. It was almost proven difficult for me to heal you, but luckily, I had help from these lot."_

 _She motioned to all the dragons in the room before one's voice was heard._

" _Don't forget me."_

 _Sitting in a chair behind her was Acnologia. He seemed to have both his arms and he wore an actual outfit. His face didn't seem so stoic and Juvia couldn't feel any malicious intent within him anymore. She raised an eyebrow at him being there._

" _I'm so confused. Before I get onto_ _ **that**_ _topic, I have a question. Just exactly how long have I been out for? You make it sound like you expected Wendy to bounce back from my death in a month or two."_

 _Grandeeney shifted awkwardly and Igneel sighed before Acnologia took it upon himself to reply. "Juvia, you've been out for over a year and three months."_

 _The girl nearly jumped out of the bed. "_ _ **WHAAAAAT?!"**_

 _Grandeeney nodded, anger seeping into her voice. "It took_ _ **me**_ _a year to piece you back together! I am giving you my toughest ever training regime so that you learn to make forbidden magic not do that to you again otherwise I'm finishing you off myself, got it?!"_

 _Juvia sweatdropped and nodded her head. She turned her head to the black dragon who seemed to have a shiny head._

" _I'm guessing you're Metalicana, Gajeel's dad."_

" _That I am. Thanks for being there for the brat, even though sometimes he's just an annoying selfish prick."_

 _One of the dragons that Juvia didn't know. "Like father like son."_

 _Metalicana growled. "D'you wanna fight, Skiadrum?!"_

" _Eat my shadows man."_

 _Metalicana snickered. "Pretty sure Gajeel already did that and beat your son at the grand magic games."_

" _Okay, enough! Geeze, males."_

 _Juvia laughed and nodded her head in agreement._

" _Okay, onto my next question. Acnologia, how are you here, I thought you died?"_

" _This is where all the dragons who die come to. Also, any dragon slayer who wasn't able to have the dragon scales made inside of them so that they don't turn into a dragon gets sent here when they die too. For the last year, I've been thinking about what Natsu told me, and he's right. Humans are just the same and I'm part of the bad humans. I've been making amends with all the dragons and Grandeeney said I could help with your magic stores."_

 _Grandeeney nodded. "You have got to be the craziest person I've ever met to just completely empty your magic stores like that. When I mean no one's done that before, I mean_ _ **no one's**_ _done that before! I can heal, but I can't fix what's there. Unfortunately, you will never be a water mage again, but you can still have some of your properties, such as make it rain and your water body. To actually control water? I'm sorry but that is no longer possible."_

 _Juvia's eyebrows furrowed as she nodded her head and tried not to cry. So she wasn't going to have magic ever again? Well as long as she gets to see her nakama, she could be okay with that. She was pretty sure that Natsu would still love her as a civilian._

 _She then saw Acnologia standing beside her bed as he held a box in his hand._

" _Don't be disheartened, she's just being overdramatic. Luckily for you, I was able to make a lacryma and fill it with the seven powers of these guys, as well as put a bit of my magic in there. This doesn't automatically mean that you have everyone's magics, this is just to start up your magic coil. However, because the lacryma is mine, you'll have my power and also, I was able to find a water dragon."_

 _He opened the box and Juvia saw the black lacryma that had water swirling around it. She gasped when she could see the seven flames that Natsu had used to defeat Acnologia himself._

" _Why isn't the water dragon here? I would have liked to have thanked them."_

" _Katara wanted to do it anonymously, but I'll give her your thanks. The reason why you have two magics in here is because you had two before you died, making your body stronger. You became a dual elementalist mage, meaning that for you to use magic, you always need two."_

 _Juvia nodded before Acnologia spoke again. "As soon as I put this lacryma in you, you'll head back to the world of the living. If you want to say anything, say it before you get sent back._

" _Won't I wake up in a coffin? I mean it's been over a year..."_

 _Igneel chuckled. "Don't worry brat, when you supposedly passed on, your body disappeared too. It was the only way for Grandeeney to start the healing process. Basically, you're already in your physical body."_

 _Juvia nodded before standing up and bowing. "I am extremely grateful to all of you for making this happen. Please, if any of you have any messages you want me to pass on, tell me."_

" _Just let Gajeel know that even if he is a punk, I'm happy he got the girl."_

" _Tell Rouge that I'm still sorry I lied to him and that he should stop beating about the bush and let Minerva know that he likes her. It's been a year already!"_

 _Juvia giggled and nodded._

" _Let Sting know that I'm proud of him achieving so much as the youngest guild master since Mavis."_

" _My name is Azula and although I didn't teach him anything due to him only having a lacryma, tell Laxus that I'm happy with the route that he's taking and I'm happy he's utilizing my magic correctly now."_

" _My name is Vesta and tell Erik the same thing please."_

" _I'll make them aware of you both."_

 _Juvia turned back to Grandeeney and Igneel and the healer spoke first._

" _Let my little Wendy know that I'm proud of how far she's come and that it's okay, with time, she'll grow and learn more. She shouldn't beat herself up for she's still young and that at the rate she's going, she'll be able to do what I can do. I love her."_

 _Juvia nodded once more before turning to Igneel. The fire king dragon sighed and rubbed his head._

" _Tell Natsu that he's still a brat, but I'm proud to be his dad. That's all I want to say, but I've got some things I want to say to you. I'm proud of you Juvia. To step up to the plate when no one else will. To take on a magic so opposite your own that you could have died, but you didn't let that stop you. Your heart is just so big and I wish you had found me when you were younger again as well. Hmm, I guess that wouldn't have worked out, you guys are lovers, not siblings."_

 _Juvia blushed a deep red colour. "Get on with it!"_

 _Igneel laughed. "In just three months, you exceeded all my expectations. Thank you for defeating End to get Natsu back, but I'm also happy in some sick and twisted way that End was unleashed so that I got to meet you too. You've done me proud too, kid."_

 _Juvia stared up as tears started forming in her eyes. She wiped them hastily. "Look what you've made me do, I'm crying now!"_

 _She heard a sniffle and saw that Igneel was doing the same. "Same here you brat! Just take your magic and go. I don't want to see you back here until you're old and grey."_

 _Juvia grinned and nodded as she faced Acnologia. "I'm ready now."_

 _Acnologia handed her some papers. "These are some of my spells as well as Katara's. I too am impressed at the way you utilized Igneel's magic despite only having it for three months. Well done. I know that you'll definitely be someone who is worthy of my original slayer magic. Hold tight now, okay?"_

 _Acnologia pushed the lacryma into the middle of her chest and Juvia felt herself gasp out loud as her eyes widened at the intrusion. It honestly felt like she was being blasted away in slow motion and it hurt as she felt the orb go deeper and deeper into her chest._

Juvia woke up from the ground and found herself randomly on the grass. She brushed all the dirt off and noticed new tattoos on her body, signalling the seven dragons who had helped restore her magic coils. She grinned before she frowned at the sense of a dark mage nearby. She almost paled when she felt someone else's magic.

" _Is that Wendy and Carla?! Oh Kami I need to go now!"_

Juvia ran off into the forest and ducked under each branch and jumped over trees. She saw into the clearing that Wendy and Carla had been hit down and Juvia was guessing that this is what Grandeeney meant by 'not herself.' She was taking missions too hard for herself by the looks of things.

"Poor little dragon slayer, I thought they said you got stronger in the last year. What a pathetic mage. Oh well, time to die."

Juvia felt her rage bubble over. Just _who_ did he think he _was_ to try and taker her sister's _life_?! She conjured up the rain and smirked at how easy it was. She made it rain only on the mage attacking her sister and he paused in his movements.

"Huh, it's raining only on me?"

Wendy looked through heavy lidded eyes in surprise. Was she just seeing things?

Suddenly, in the rain, Juvia materialised behind the mage, her fists held up. "Never turn your back on your enemies."

He turned in shock. "What the-"

"Water dragon's punch!"

She punched him square in the face and his body sailed over Wendy's form as he hit a tree. He slumped down to the ground unconscious as she went and tied him up, using some rope and magic ban from Wendy's discarded bag.

"Wendy?"

"Juvia, is that really you?

She rolled the girl carefully onto her back and she beamed down at her. Carla was on the other side, knocked out cold.

"Yup, it's me! Now, let's get this guy dropped off to wherever you need to drop him off to and get you the rest you guys need."

Juvia put Carla in Wendy's arms and she noticed the younger girl crying. Juvia was instantly worried. "Are you okay, tell me what hurts."

"I'm just afraid that when I come around, you'll be gone! It's all in my head!"

Juvia wiped her tears and held her close like a baby in one arm. "I'm real, imouto. I know you're surprised and I probably smell different, but by the time you wake up, I promise you I'll still be by your side. I'll explain everything when I see the guild. Anyway, think you can stay awake long enough for me so I can drop this guy off and get us home?"

"I-I think so."

"Perfect. If you need to sleep, just tell me okay?"

"Don't wanna, I need to keep looking at you to make sure you don't disappear again."

Juvia felt a dull pain in her heart and she felt her throat clog up with emotion. Wendy had really been suffering without her. If this were back in Phantom, she knew no one would have missed her, only Gajeel and that was just about. To think Wendy held onto her this much, it was touching.

"It's okay imouto. I'm not going anywhere."

~x~

Juvia collected Wendy's reward for her and travelled on to Fairy Tail, forgetting that she was no longer like a normal mage who didn't feel sick on transport. She couldn't wait to see everyone again and raise a few people's spirits. She hoped that they had all been able to move on like she told them to.

She pushed open the door slowly and it creaked loud enough to gain everyone's attention. They all turned to look at the door and the whole place went silent. Juvia trudged in holding the unconscious duo. Everyone gasped as they froze in their movements. Plates and glasses smashed, cutlery clanged and Juvia had a blush on her face. She hadn't really expected such a reception, but then again, she should have known that this would be their reaction to seeing a dead person.

"Hey guys, I'm back! Can someone help me with Wendy and Carla please, they're out cold."

Lisanna was the only one to move after a while. She knew what it was like to have been believed to be dead, so seeing Juvia come back from the dead didn't phase her as much as it should have.

"Yeah come, I'll take her for you and take her to the infirmary. Want me to set up a camp by the side of your bed for when she wakes up? She'll want you there."

Juvia tearily nodded at her best friend. "You're taking my coming back from the dead so well."

Lisanna laughed with tears in her eyes. "Hey, been there, done that! I'm actually shaking while looking at you because it took you over a year and three months to come back, but hey, I can't knock you for that when it took me 2 years. I heard some truth in Natsu's words. I never said goodbye because I knew you would be back."

Juvia laughed and nodded as Lisanna took Wendy to the back and one by one, everyone started rushing forward one by one when they realised that it really wasn't a ghost.

"GRAMPS! GRAMPS GET OUT HERE!"

There was grumbling heard from the top floor as the master came out at Laxus' call. He hated it when he got called like that, it always made him feel like he was having a heart attack. He never knew what to expect.

"What is it?"

The whole guild was standing in one area and him being a short man sighed in frustration.

"Brats, you all know that I'm short, why would you stand in my way?"

Laxus grinned with tears in his eyes and Makarov stood there gobsmacked. What on this planet would make his grandson cry other than the day he 'died'?

It suddenly clicked in Makarov's head as everyone started to make a pathway for him. There she stood, looking like she had never left the guild in the first place. The blue haired water mage that was the only casualty of his guild that died over a year ago was back.

Without even thinking, he ran forward and examined her from every angle, like a worried father would do. "Juvia, you're back! Are you hurt? What happened? Who fixed you? Who stole your body in the first place, Porlyusica said your body disappeared from the water tank?!"

Juvia laughed and shook her head. "Master, I'm fine!"

Then she fell to her knees in an apologetic way and everyone gasped in shock. She was by master's feet as sobs overtook her body.

"I am so _sorry_ master, I disobeyed you and I made everyone upset! You told me not to use any lightning infused spells and I did, but it was the only way to really truly defeat End! If I had known of the consequences, I would have tried to find an alternative way."

The master looked down at her as he silently cried. He sighed shakily and ruffled her hair.

"Stand up, my child. While yes, I am angry that we thought we lost you forever, I did say to only use it when all other options have been exhausted. Please don't take such a risk again, I need to be the one to die first before I lose any of you guys. It's so good to have you back, we'll need an explanation of what happened to you soon."

She stood up and wiped her tears, nodding. "Of course master. I noticed that Team Natsu plus Levy and Gajeel aren't here. Juvia will wait until they're all back until before I explain everything."

They all nodded as they all hugged her once again and she grinned, silently thanking the seven dragons for reuniting her with the land of the living. Next time, she'll train even harder, but by the looks of things, times have been peaceful. She hoped that it would stay like that forever more.

"JUVIA-NEE!"

Juvia jumped and looked over and saw Wendy running out of the infirmary with a huge panic. Juvia quickly caught the girl who threw herself at her. She was worried as she tried to look the girl over and see if any of her injuries had suddenly come undone.

"What's wrong, are you okay? You should be resting!"

"I had to make sure that you were real and that I didn't dream you before I passed out! Lisanna said she was setting up an area for you so that you could stay by me but-"

The girl broke down and Juvia smiled and held her close, while stroking her hair and consoling her. She knew what this was all about and she had to step up and be the big sister that Wendy had seen her to be.

"I'm sorry for stressing you out this last year, Wendy-chan. Next time, I'll be more careful with what I do. I won't use my lifeforce."

Wendy nodded before pulling back and punching her lightly on the arm while wiping her tears away with a fist. "You better not."

Juvia grinned at her behaviour. Gajeel had clearly influenced the girl more than anyone would like to admit. Although she was crying, she was still angry and Juvia understood that.

"I'm waiting for the others before I explain what happened to me. Let's get some bandages on your wounds and then see to Carla okay?"

As they got to the infirmary door, Mira ran up to them both. "Team Natsu, Gajeel and Levy are back!"

"So soon?"

Wendy was practically bouncing around at this point. She wanted to hear what happened to Juvia more than healing up. "Forget my wounds, let's go and see them now!"

Wendy dragged Juvia by her wrist and the older girl took note of how strong Wendy was becoming now. She wouldn't have been able to do that her a year ago.

Wendy called out to them to gain their attention. She had seen them all confused as to why there was so much chatter in the guild.

"Guys!"

Erza heard the girl's voice and took a bossy tone, upset that Wendy had gone running off by herself and had gone missing.

"Wendy, where have you been we were looking all...over..."

Erza trailed off when she saw Juvia standing behind the girl. Juvia felt shy as all their eyes were on her. She saw Natsu staring at her and she found herself staring back. He was the first to move. Before Juvia knew it, he had already wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around in the air. He had the biggest grin on his face as he held her tightly.

"Juvia! You're back! I knew you would come home soon!"

Juvia laughed, tears finding their way out of her tear ducts. "Yeah, sorry it took me so long to get back, but I'm here now."

The whole team rushed forward with tears to all say their greetings and master came to hush them all.

"Okay brats, we've been waiting for you all so that Juvia can explain what happened to her. Sit down and shut up as she talks, no interruptions!"

They all nodded as everyone sat down. Juvia blushed when Natsu pulled her into a seat next to him and he held his arm around her waist protectively to show that she won't be going anywhere and that she was safe with him.

"When I died, I remember being brought in front of the spirit king and then all of a sudden I was awake in front of the dragons. It happened in the space of literally ten minutes to me, but when I spoke to the dragons, they told me that it had already been a year. I was so confused. Either way, I was told by Grandeeney that she had been trying to piece me together for ages it took her over a year to do so and also the reason as to why my body disappeared.

"Because I was so reckless with my magic store, it was on completely empty, hence why I passed on in the first place. The seven dragons plus Acnologia - hey, questions at the end!"

Natsu and everyone pouted when Juvia scolded them for trying to ask a question now. They just wanted to know what Acnologia was doing there!

"Acnologia has seen the error in his ways and is making amends with all the other dragons. Although the seven dragons were able to put their flames into a lacryma for me, that would only be enough magic to bring me back to life, but I would only be a civilian as I lost _all_ my magic. Acnologia then gave me all his original slayer magic, as well as finding a water dragon who was kind enough to fuse her magic in the lacryma to keep me as a water mage. It had to be Acnologia to give me his magic, seeing as he was the strongest. I had to receive two different types of magics, because I became a dual elemental mage before I died, meaning that if I wanted to have any magic at all, I need two different kinds for my magic store to work as normal."

She grinned at them all, showing the tattoos that she had gained from all the events and seeing as Natsu hadn't been there to see them all, he stared in awe at her arms. Juvia gave him a soft smile and he grinned back at her.

Everyone started cheering once more as they all welcomed her home. Happy was sniffling in her arms and she cradled him like a baby. She had missed this.

"Oi Happy, I think Mira's got some fish for you!"

The cat flew straight out of Juvia's arms and towards the bar as Natsu chuckled and put his arm around the newest dragon slayer. Happy already knew that that was the signal that he wanted to be alone with Juvia and get his feelings out straight with her.

"Can we go somewhere more private? I need to talk to you without any distractions."

Juvia's face glowed and she nodded as they walked out of the guild unseen. Or so they thought.

Natsu walked down the street and he didn't let go of Juvia's hand once. Juvia enjoyed the silence, just as long as it was the two of them, she didn't mind.

"I've missed you."

Natsu finally spoke up and Juvia stared up at him. He had changed. His hair was slightly longer, but still short enough. His jacket was still the same, but both sleeves were off this time around and he had bandages on both arms. His canines were longer, but he was still her Natsu, the one that she would do anything to save.

His hand reached out and played with a strand of her hair. She smiled up at him as she closed the gap between them both. They had gotten over their past loves together and then harshly separated the moment they felt any form of connection. Now they were back together and distance makes the heart grow fonder, nothing was going to keep them apart.

"I missed you too, Natsu-kun."

He grinned with his teeth showing. "I knew that you would be back. There was no way you were gonna get rid of End and then just die. Now you're back, I'm not gonna let you go."

Juvia could feel more tears in her eyes and before she could wipe them away, Natsu already did it for her. His thumb brushed over her skin lightly and he smiled gently at her.

"End didn't know it, but I saw everything he could through his eyes. He was always so sure that I was gone from his mind, so all those little times I got to talk to you, he never knew about. You've also got to show me how you do the explosion on the roasting bath spell! You were so cool using my magic!"

Juvia laughed. "It's really easy, a lot of your spells are like mine. I can definitely teach you some of them, maybe at our next camping trip."

She giggled at the face that Natsu made as his face lit up like a child's in a toyshop. He grinned at her when she mentioned that and he patted his pocket as they stood up to head back into the guild.

"I've got a bunch of empty storage capsules with your name all over it. We can go some time this week, whenever you're ready."

Juvia nodded before watching his unravel his scarf from around his neck and he wrapped it around her waist before pulling her body to his. Their hips bumped together and Juvia wore a blush on her face before looking up at the dragon slayer.

"I want you to keep this."

Her eyes went wide as she started spluttering. "W-WHAT?! ARE YOU CRAZY, IGNEEL GAVE YOU THIS SCARF!"

Natsu laughed. "But he gave it to you too right? Besides, I don't need it anymore. When you transferred the magic over to me, Igneel spoke to me in my head and he said everything he needed to say to me. I'm grateful for that and he left me a present of my own. I know it's a magical item that can protect me from all different kinds of magic, but he loaded me up on all that. You're not the only one with tattoos now as well."

He was clearly talking about the bandages on his arms that must have been covering them. He still had the ends of the scarf in his hand, pulling against it so that Juvia was snuggled into his chest. She liked the warmth that he gave off and it felt so familiar. She knew she was back home and that this was all real.

"I want you to have a piece of me everywhere you go, even when you go on a job without me, just know that I'm there with you too. And besides, you looked so _hot_ with it around your waist like that. Also, I've had something from you this whole time, it's only fair I give you something too."

Juvia was about to ask him what the hell he was talking about, when she saw a glint of gold around his neck. Her eyes widened as she looked up at him and then back down at his neck. She reached up and grabbed a hold of the pendant, realising that it was her Fairy Tail necklace that she had given him when the book of E.N.D. had been read to him.

"It was the one thing I definitely made sure that End wouldn't be able to throw away. It took so much willpower to control him to make sure he never got rid of it, because you gave it to me. I couldn't let him just throw it away."

Juvia couldn't stop the impulsive behaviour that came over her next. She leaned up against him and captured his lips with her own. They were chapped and she couldn't help but smile. That is so like Natsu. He didn't even hesitate when he kissed her back and she felt the scarf being tied around her waist before one of his hands were on her hips and another was in her hair.

He squeezed her hip which made her gasp and suddenly, his tongue darted out and into her mouth, soothing her own and she moaned into his mouth. Natsu felt something shift within him when he felt her body relax against his and he deepened the kiss. He knew that if he didn't stop anytime soon, he might end up mating with her in the streets. That was when he heard-

"OI SALAMANDER, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO MY SISTER?!"

They sprang apart and stared at Gajeel with flushed faces and wide eyes. Natsu then grew angry quickly as he stomped half way to meet with the annoying dragon slayer who was making his way over to the couple.

"THE SAME DAMN THING THAT YOU GET TO DO TO LEVY, SO WHY DON'T YOU TAKE YOUR TIN CAN SELF ELSEWHERE AND STOP BOTHERING US?!"

They both paused before they started laughing and Gajeel slugged Natsu in the arm.

"Take care of your mate, Salamander, or I'll take care of you."

Natsu nodded with a smirk. He looked back at Juvia who was staring at him with a beautiful smile on her face. Her hair was long and wavy and she stood there with his scarf tied around her sexy hips. She was an angel, there was no way he would ever hurt her. He turned back to Gajeel to reply.

"You have my permission to beat me if I ever hurt her, but I know I won't."

That was enough for Gajeel who nodded and made his way back into the guild. Juvia ran forward and grabbed Natsu's hand as she walked with him.

"I wish he didn't pick now to interrupt what we were doing."

Natsu smirked and stopped, turning to face her. "Want to do it again?"

The only answer he got was her cheeks turning red and he chuckled before planting her a chaste kiss on her lips. "We've got all the time in the world now, but let's go inside, everyone is so happy to see you and as much as I want to, I can't hog you all evening.."

Juvia nodded and bit her lip, staring at the man she loved. It was so good to see his pink hair back and the aura of death gone. She made him put his arm around her and he held her close, knowing exactly how she felt. It had been so long since they last saw each other and all they wanted was to be near each other as much as possible.

"I can't wait to spar with you and find out what Acnologia's real magic was!"

Juvia rolled her eyes, a fond smile playing on her lips. She found Happy eating fish with Carla and Lily and Gajeel and Wendy were sitting with them. The two dragon slayers made their way over to them.

"Of course that's all you can think about."

"Hey! I think about other stuff too!"

"Yeah, like food."

"Happy, you're supposed to support me!"

"Oh, sorry."

"Salamander is lying, he doesn't even think in that empty head of his."

Natsu growled as Gajeel smirked at him.

"I think about Juvia too you dumbass walking metal detector!"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!"

Natsu cackled and that was the beginning of the guild brawl. Juvia laughed as did Wendy. The younger teen came and sat down next to Juvia and the older teen saw that she had finally been able to heal herself.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Wendy."

The sky mage shook her head. "I'm sorry for breaking my promise. You made me promise to move on, but I just _couldn't_. Those three months that we spent together while training with Yato, I finally got to bond with you. I've always looked up to Erza and Lucy as my older sisters, but I feel like you understand me more than they do. You always made sure that I was okay, you helped me with the translations and you trained with me. Not once did you treat me like as I was weak. Also, you became another female with dragon slayer magic. Now I'm not the only one."

Juvia laughed and hugged her while the whole brawl continued around them.

"By the way, how is Yato-san? I didn't get to see him before I... _left._ "

Wendy nodded her head. "He's good, he's started up a school actually. It's like an orphanage slash school so that kids without magic have a place where they fit in and get an education as well. He kind of got the idea from your past, when you were feared due to how strong of a water mage you are."

Juvia blinked hard in order to make sure that the tears didn't spill from her face and she grinned. "I wonder if he needs help trying to pass on the Mildian language. I would love to help him some time."

"He's also a sponsor for the guild! He covers any damage that we cause, just because he's rich enough to."

Before Juvia could even reply, a table flew at them with such speed that Juvia just about punched it in time. Wendy's jaw dropped as Juvia had the same light blue patterns that Acnologia once had. Everyone gulped in fear as Juvia bared her teeth at them, as if looking for the culprit.

"Who. Threw. That?"

Everyone stepped away from the culprit and Gray was left quivering in the middle. Juvia glared at him before grinning evilly. "Looks like I'm joining in now."

"NATSU, DO SOMETHING!"

"KILL HIM JUVE!"

"DON'T CHEER HER ON YOU BASTARD!"

At this point, Juvia was more frightening than Mira and Erza put together and now her magic wasn't something to mess with. No one was really sure what magic she had inherited from Acnologia, but they didn't want to find out. She already had the blue markings all over body, that was enough for them.

"Etherion dragon's kick!"

Her leg shone a light blue colour and Juvia's kick collided with Gray's stomach. His vision blurred as he found himself stuck in the wall as he passed out. Everyone went silent as Lucy gasped. Elfman was the first to move and he peeled the ice devil slayer off of the wall. He turned back to Juvia, awe and adoration in his eyes.

"THAT WAS SO MAN!"

Everyone started laughing and Makarov was sweating buckets. If it weren't for Yato backing them up financially, he would have passed out. "Please don't make this a habit, Juvia."

Juvia grinned the same way that Natsu grinned. The blue markings on her body disappeared and her incisors matched all of the dragon slayers. Makarov could practically _hear_ a Natsu like response falling out of her mouth.

"No promises, master!"

Makarov laughed shakily and shook his head. To be honest, he wouldn't want it any other way "At least you have manners."

The guild partied, drank and fought the night away before people started yawning and making their way home. Everyone came to hug Juvia as they said their goodbyes. Juvia grinned at everyone till her cheeks hurt, and even then, that didn't stop her from grinning.

She turned to her younger sister. "Hey Wendy, let's go home." When she thought about it, would she still have a place at Fairy Hills?

"Nah, it's fine ameonna, Levy and I will get her home."

"Yeah, there was no one to pay your rent, so I moved your stuff to my place."

Juvia turned to face Natsu who shrugged with a smile. Juvia beamed at the thought of getting to stay with Natsu and she blushed. This was going to be different from camping where they were in separate tents. This time, they were going to be sleeping side by side. She could tell that her wild imagination was still very much alive and kicking.

"It's good to have you back Juvia. Now the original trio of putting Gajeel in his place is back together!"

Juvia laughed at Levy's words as they high fived each other. Just as Gajeel was about to complain, Wendy and Levy pushed him out of the door while saying their goodbyes. Carla and Lily hugged Juvia before flying out.

"And then there were two. Well three. Come on Happy!'"

The exceed floated into Juvia's arms and relaxed as Natsu's arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer.

"You made a promise that you were gonna bring me back, even if it killed you?"

Juvia was confused as to what he was talking about, but then she remembered the scene from over a year ago and when Happy had been crying that she was leaving them. She didn't know why he would have suddenly brought it up now though.

"We needed you back, Natsu. Obviously, dying wasn't really on the list, but anything to help and bring you back to us. Besides, you would _happily_ do the same for any of us."

Natsu made a noise as if he wanted to argue that point, but Juvia was right. If he had to die to save anyone from the guild, he would happily do it.

"But you make it seem as if you're less important than me. I needed you, Wendy needed you, Gajeel needed you, Happy _cried_ for you everyday! We all missed you and you not being here hurt. It hurt me more than when we lost Lisanna."

Juvia looked up at him and saw unshed tears in his eyes. Juvia brushed her lips across his cheek and he grinned down at her. Happy snickered at them both before he went silent from the glare that they both gave him. They were having a moment, they didn't want him laughing at them.

"Well I'm not going anywhere, so you don't have to worry. I'll never do anything like that again."

The arm around Juvia's waist tightened. "Good. I love you."

Juvia grinned. " _I love you too."_

* * *

So how was that final chapter for ya?! Okay, good, crap, terrible? Honestly, the ending was pretty weak, I know. I just thought to end it on some fluff, you know? But yeah, I totally get it if you were upset with the anti climax of an ending.

 **Trivia time!**

Okay, so you guys know that I usually try and sneak in some trivia to help you understand the story a bit more. Let's start with Yato. He is an OC that Sakura made, nothing to do with me. As the story went on and I deviated from Sakura's original path, I had no idea where the story would be heading. That was when I decided to make Yato related to someone strong, Hades. They started off as distant cousins, but when I learnt of how old Hades really was, I decided to make them brothers. Basically, I made Yato lie about who he was. Because Hades was a bad dude, if he said he was his twin, people wouldn't have looked at him the same, so he hid his true identity. Why he wasn't at the scene when Juvia 'died' was because he had been holding off the 9 demon gates who died the moment Juvia killed off End. I thought it would be cool to make them all linked to End's life force so that when he died, they all did too.

When I started writing this chapter, I was in the middle of re-reading the whole story, just to make sure I was getting my facts straight and stuff. That was when I noticed that in chapter 7, I foreshadowed Juvia's death. At the time, that was far from the plan, but when it was getting closer to the end, I was so adamant to have Juvia die. It was getting to the point where I didn't want her to come back and maybe have this ending as an Omake or something, but I scrapped that idea. You never know, I might make an omake where Juvia isn't revived, just to be evil.

I know this is a topic that will confuse a lot of people and it's about Juvia's magic stores. Chelia, as we know, is unable to use magic, but in the final chapter, she is able to start off small and use some sort of magic now, just not her original. Same with Kinana. Let's say that they have about only 5% magic left in their body. Chelia's god slayer magic requires a lot of magic, so 5% wouldn't be enough. Kinana doesn't really remember much of who she is, so she uses basic transformation magic while trying to build up her 5%. Ultear used up all her magic, but she's a strong time mage, she became an old woman. Let's say she has at 2% magic left in her body. The issue with Juvia is that is on 0% which means death really, hence why she died due to having no magic. Natsu also had no magic, but he was siphoning (hahaha, vampire diaries) the magic from Igneel's scarf, which Juvia put on him when she got rid of End. Hope that clears that up.

Linking to Juvia's magic stores, the 7 dragons combined their magic and put it in a lacryma to give to Juvia. This isn't actually enough magic for her to still be a mage, due to the fact that the flames are aiding for her to come to life, not top up her magic stores on top. This is obviously because reviving someone is against the balance of nature, so she can't have the best of both worlds. Of course, this is then cancelled out when an extra dragon (the water dragon) then adds her magic into the mix, and because Acnologia is the strongest dude (or is that Natsu now?), she is able to have magic, thanks to the two extra dragons.

Speaking of dragons, I named the lightning dragon Azula because of Azula from the last airbender who was sick (in the head) and made her own form of bending: lightning. Vesta is called Vesta because I thought it was cool lol. Katara is obviously about airbender reference as well.

Okay, now to talk about Acnologia's original magic. No one knows for sure because Mashima-san never told us what it was. The theory of him being the Etherion dragon slayer is something that I've seen floating about on the internet for quite a while. It would make sense as to why he is able to absorb other magic, because that's pretty much what etherion does. On top of that, the etherion flames that Natsu ate is the same colour as the markings on Acnologia's body, both human and dragon form, as well as his dragon roar. I've decided to go along with that.

 **Trivia done!**

That's all on the trivia part lol. I think I've missed some out, but if it confuses you, PM me and I can explain!

Thank you so much for reading this story and following me down on the path, I love everyone of you who has reviewed and made me feel worthy of being able to adopt this piece! Please don't forget to rate or hate, flames or floods! Just needed to show you guys that as much as I don't update as often as you would like for me to, i am still here, writing bits and pieces to chapters that need a lot of attention. I'm in my final year of university, then you can all take my attention pretty much 24/7, but if you guys can hold up until May with slow updates, I'll make it all worthwhile, trust me!

For those who are constantly on the look out for Navia stories, search for the community called **SPREAD THE NAVIA** it has pretty much every Navia story (in English) that I've found and I've added it into one area! The community is run by my good friend **lanvia-chan** and I'm just her trusty staff! Follow it so that you get notifications of when there's a new Navia story on the rise!

Once again, apologies for poor grammar and spelling and I love you all!

Lolita-love,

Lolita-chan


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